Wednesday 16 October, 2013

7 Christ has accepted you. So accept one another in order to bring praise to God. 8 I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews. He teaches us that God is true. He shows us that God will keep the promises he made to the founders of our nation. 9 Jesus became a servant of the Jews so that people who are not Jews could give glory to God for his mercy. It is written, “I will praise you among those who aren’t Jews. I will sing praises to you.” 10 Again it says, “You non-Jews, be full of joy. Be joyful together with God’s people.” 11 And again it says, “All you non-Jews, praise the Lord. All you nations, sing praises to him.” 12 And Isaiah says, “The Root of Jesse will grow up quickly. He will rule over the nations. Those who aren’t Jews will put their hope in him.” 13 May the God who gives hope fill you with great joy. May you have perfect peace as you trust in him. May the power of the Holy Spirit fill you with hope.

Hope. It is a feeling that is somewhat lacking in today’s society, often with great detriment. But God, who is the source of hope, wants us to overflow with hope, joy and peace as we trust in him. It is a circular argument. God wants us to have hope. He will give us the hope. All we have to do is trust him.
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It is always easier to trust someone when we have seen them do what they said they would do on some previous occasion.

In the beginning of this passage Paul shows us God’s trustworthiness. He outlines the 2 reasons for Christ coming to earth. 1. To fulfil the promises made to the Jews. 2. To include the gentiles in salvation. Christ came and fulfilled these longstanding promises. He has shown that he is trustworthy. THEN the passage goes on to say that we need to trust him so that we can overflow with hope and joy. Who are we to hold ourselves back from the good, joy-filled blessing of hope that God has for us?

Lord, help us to trust you and grow in joy, peace and hope by your Holy Spirit. Amen

Written by Megan Cornell