Troublesome Hope

 November 26, 2021

St. Paul’s letter to the Roman Christians is considered by scholars to be his magnum opus, his definitive explanation of the faith he preached. Not having visited this church, he wrote this letter by way of introduction. Though he had not met them, he was certainly known by them, but reputation has its drawbacks. He was no stranger to slander and misrepresentation, so this letter is his way of setting down clearly who he was and what was his message.

Having laid the foundation of the reality and devastation caused by human sinfulness, he moves to the solution found in the death of Jesus Christ and our faith in him which puts us in right relationship with God. The fifth chapter of his letter begins,

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” —Romans 5:1-5 

His words are pretty straightforward, but can sound pretty foreign to our Western ears. Verse 3 has us glorying in tribulations; words that sound rather masochistic to us. Why would anyone do such a thing unless he or she were a few fries short of a Happy Meal? Paul doesn’t do hit and run, throwing out a provocative statement without any explanation. He continues by telling us God’s purpose in our troubles. 

Some gifts God can just lay on us in grace and mercy, but others require a process. Endurance is one of those process gifts. Excellence in any field requires dedication and endurance through long hours of hard work. We only endure if there is some problem we need to endure through. Perseverence/endurance then produces a certain character: strength, determination, the ability to fight through discouragement and defeat.

But how does character produce hope? Most of us have been through some pretty hopeless situations, and not all of them resulted in a miraculous turnaround. Our prayers have been unanswered, our loved one died, we lost the job, the wayward child has yet to come home. We’ve endured, and perhaps developed a strength of character we didn’t know we could have, but how does that give us hope?

I am not even close to being the final authority on these matters, but I do believe that once you’ve been through tribulation and endured it, you don’t look to this world to give you hope. COVID has taught us how fleeting such hope can be. Character means not being tied to the whims of the world or of self. Character looks beyond the immediacy of feelings, having lost faith in it’s ability to sustain us. I find nothing in this world that I can see that will give me eternal hope. I’ve lost my naivete and know that even the best of this world can evaporate overnight. The only thing that doesn’t disappoint us is “the love of God [which] has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” That love is the source of my hope.