Kingdom Building

June 14, 2019

Scripture Reading: Romans 5:1-5

Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

I am intrigued by the fact that I seem to be oblivious to some long-term pain from arthritis much of the time but if I stub my toe or get a minor burn, I stop everything I am doing and pay attention only to the pain. Suffering does indeed produce endurance. Endurance does help define our character, but I think we chose whether our character is defined for better or worse. The decision we make regarding our character drives the type of hope in which we live. The key to whether we turn suffering into productive living is deeply entrenched in our relationship with God and is fulfilled in the gift of the Spirit. Bitterness is a character trait. Desiring that someone get what they deserve is a hope. Allowing the Spirit to drive our development produces character that withstands anything that gets in the way of God’s love and feeds hope for a world ruled by love.

Bitterness is a driver in our society today. For many people, too many people, their lives are not reflecting their hope, or they have lost all hope. I once heard someone say that the difference in being poor and being in poverty is those in poverty have lost all hope. In the USA 13.4% of the population live in poverty. In Oklahoma the percentage is 15.8% or 1 out of 6 people*.

Jesus knew what he was doing when he commanded us to feed and clothe the poor. He knew that living in survival mode eats up every moment of every day leaving no room for hope.

Prayer: Lord, help us be a source of hope for the impoverish as we work to change the systems that imprison them in hopelessness. Amen.

*https://okpolicy.org/new-census-data-shows-that-oklahoma-fell-further-behind-the-u-s-on-poverty-and-uninsured-rate-for-second-consecutive-year/

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.