Advent Reflection: Romans 8

By -
But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:24-28)

Hope is used in both as a verb and as a noun (“Hope that is seen” versus “Who hopes?”) I like the verb part. I can do something about the wait, I can become more patient for that thing I hope for.  I can grow in my hope as I mature, have more experiences, see more hopeless situations turn around. As I grow in faith, I understand more and more where to put my hope. There’s a lot I can do to hope. 

But the noun part is compelling as well because my hope is that I don’t have to do everything. It is the Holy Spirit at work, interceding for us through wordless groans, trying to give us some help when we are at the end of our rope or confused about what to do next.

And the intercession the Spirit does on our behalf isn’t random or a shot in the dark, it’s in accordance with God’s will. What a great hope that is! As I wonder and as I wander, the Holy Spirit is at work praying to the father on my behalf. 

And not only is the Spirit at work, but God the father is at work working for the good of those who love him. He is actively taking the pieces of my life that I can and cannot piece together and making something purposeful, intentional, good. 

And that good he does is simply because I have been called according to his purpose, which is being in relationship with God, and committed to following his ways. 

And at the end of the chapter we find out that while the Father and the Spirit are at work, our relationship with God through Christ can never end because of what Christ has already done for us on the cross.("Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ...")

As we hope at Christmas time, there are some things on our list to do. But apparently there are things on God’s list that he’s already doing on my behalf, and the Spirit is acting as a healthy nag to remind him what it is I wanted in the first place. 

Hope the verb and hope the noun intersect at Christmas. We are reminded of our need to hope in the Lord, and also to remember that our hope is not what we do, but what God promises to do and has already done for us in Christ.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cappadocia

By -
Image
Amy and I have traveled to Turkey twice before, but this is our first time leading a group into Cappadocia.  What an amazing way to start our 14 day pilgrimage on the footsteps of Paul. It feels like we're in a different world. The landscape is more like the moon or a scene in Star Wars.  Hittites, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Turks all passed through and conquered. First century believers returned here after Pentecost and Peter wrote his first letter to encourage them in their persecution and suffering. In the fourth century, Simon devoted 42 years of his life in isolation on top of a fairy castle, seeking time alone with God. People brought him food and were drawn to his way of life and stayed. The soft tufa volcanic stone allowed for monks and whole communities to create monasteries and homes hidden inside whole mountains.  We visited a handful of those 365 churches (one for every day of the year) that once existed in the Goreme and Zelve valleys.  It strikes
Read more

Camino de Santiago Day Thirty-seven and Thirty-eight: We made it!

By -
Image
A Salceda to Santiago de Compostela We decided to walk 22km to the outskirts of Santiago and walk the last few kilometers in the morning. Neither of us could sleep, so we got up, packed our mochilas for the last time and walked to the old city at 5am. It was dark and rather than being joined by other pilgrims, we passed a few late night partiers and a woman walking her dog. It's not the entrance into Santiago we pictured, but we were all alone in the Praza do Obradoiro in front of the Cathedral. It was June 17 — thirty-eight days and 780 kilometers since we started May 11, in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. We were two of the first ten pilgrims in line for our compostelas , which meant we got tickets for a free lunch at the historic parador. Peter from Australia showed up and introduced us to Michael and Linda from Washington DC, who also got the lucky tickets. Peter also knew Ted and Darlene from Winnipeg, and gave them contact, since my phone died and we cou
Read more

Edinburgh and the Northumbria Community, Part 2

By -
Image
The Village Cottages on Iona Hi there it's Amy here…I'm going to try my hand at the blogging this week. I think we left off at Iona… well we went on to Edinburgh by way of 2 ferries, a long bus ride, and 2 different trains. It was actually our hardest transition yet. Maybe it's because we have had a long string of traveling, maybe because Mike's allergies were the worst they have been so far, maybe it's b-cuz we paid double the fair for the bus ride as we should have (and couldn't get the refund), maybe it's b-cuz when we checked into our hotel in Edinburgh they had not received our online confirmation so we had to pay the higher price, or maybe we were just tired; maybe all of these! Anyhoo, we spent a few moments pouting …then pulled ourselves together and went out to tour the beautiful city of Edinburgh with our walking shoes on and our rain jackets handy. Amy in the Prison of War Edinburgh is a great city, one of my favorites so far, wi
Read more