ROMANS 5
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, wehave peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faithinto this grace in which we stand, and werejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. – Romans 5:1-5
ROMANS 5 THE UPSIDE OF SUFFERING
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
When we belong to the Lord Jesus Christ
He has justified us and given us access to grace
We can now look at suffering in a different way
We use to fear and avoid it when it comes
Now we can see the upside of suffering
It produces endurance and character
When we have character, it produces hope
Hope removes all kinds of humiliation and shame.
If an unbeliever reads the title of this devotional, they would cringe because it would be illogical for them to look at suffering as anything beneficial. In this account, Paul explains to the believers that suffering has a purpose in our lives especially for those who are servants of the Lord. In Malachi 3:3 the prophet describes God Almighty as a refiner when he said: “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver.” The psalmist also refers to purification of the believers in Psalm 66:10-12 when he wrote: “For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried. You brought us into the net; you laid a crushing burden on our backs; you let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.”
This refining concept is similar to testing a student whether they have learned to apply the theories and
teachings that have been taught in the classes they attended. The test measures their cognitive, affective and psychomotor skills. In the book of James, he stressed the importance of doing the word of God and not just hearing it. What happens if we do not obey and follow the word of God after hearing it? James described it vividly in James 1:22-25 when he said: 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
REFLECTION
- What do you think happens to a believer who avoids all kinds of trials and sufferings?
