Romans 5:1-5

"(1) Therefore, since we have been justifed through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, (2) through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. (3) Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces persevereance; (4) perseverance, character; and character, hope. (5) And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."

I found these verses sort of confusing because it throws out a bunch of abstract ,, concepts that I had to wrap my mind around in order to understand. I read it the first time and wondered - what does it mean to be justified through faith? Another version rewords it "By faith we have been made acceptable to God." That is easier to understand. By faith in Jesus Christ and his resurrection, we are good with God. It reiterates the concept that no one can get to God by works or by just being a "good person". Paul goes further to say that through faith we are at peace with God. How comforting to know that even though we sin, we can be at peace with the awesome power of God wrath through the blood of Christ! Sometimes I just imagine humans as small children continually into trouble. Human parents might cut their children loose and turn their backs on them because of their behavior, but God never turns his back and he never stops loving even though we deserve the severest reprimand. The concept of recieving Gods love even though we don't deserve it is where grace comes in. Through Christ we continually live in God's grace, which helps us draw closer to Him.

The second part talks about suffering leading to perseverance (or endurance), which leads to character, which leads to hope. Now suffering seems like something most American's don't seem to have in thier lives - we don't generally suffer like some people in other countries where famine, political coups and natural disasters cause genuine, heartwrenching suffering. But looks can be decieving. Maybe our sufferings are not as awful as the ones in say Haiti, but plenty of people are loosing thier jobs, wondering how to strech $10 for two weeks, doing drugs, involving themselves in unhealthy relationships, or simply allowing this world to fill their heads with lies. But Paul says that all this suffering leads to one thing - HOPE. By ourselves we could never overcome the suffering, but through God and Christ and the Holy Spirit, we can endure, build our character and have hope in a greater future. If it were not for God, we would only see our own problems, never the hope. Thank God for the hope we can put in Him, otherwise this world would be far too overwhelming.