11-13-19

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS

November 13, 2019

Scripture: Romans 15:13

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in faith so that you overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Thought for the Day: Yesterday during staff meeting, we discussed this passage from Romans – a discussion that was both lively and fascinating. Individual staff members offered insights that were often very personal and profound. One person said, “I don’t know if I have experienced overflowing hope?” It was an exceedingly discomforting thought, for though I had read those words numerous times, I can’t say I have ever really pondered what overflowing joy looked like or felt like. Yet I believe there was agreement among the staff that if a congregation truly embodied overflowing hope, it would be more than noticeable. It would be electrifying and magnetic. For many of us, we simply need to work on filling our spiritual tanks slightly above empty. At the same time, hope is not something we create, but something we receive. Since I believe hope is poured out in abundance, the work within us is about availability and receptivity. It is our willingness for the Spirit to embed within us a conviction of the end that is so evident that it becomes true in who we are.

Prayer: My hope rests in the love made real in Jesus. Come, Holy Spirit, and immerse my life in your love so that who I am and how I am and all the other ways I am formulate a clear image of love’s victory over death, hate, guilt, injustice, despair and all the other principalities that seek to undermine the ways of Jesus. Amen.

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