Our hopes and fears

Read Romans 8:35-39

35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity,or are persecuted,or hungry,or destitute,or in danger,or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say,”For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) 37 No,despite all these things,overwhelming victory is ours through Christ,who loved us.

38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life,neither angels nor demons,neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow-not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below-indeed,nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NLT)

When others are in trouble,or we ourselves are under threat,it is tempting to switch to problem-solving mode. Here is the problem,there is the solution to it. In most cases this is unhelpful because it is untrue. Life is just that bit too complex for simple or clichéd solutions.

And yet we don’t just remain silent or stupefied in the face of adversity. Rather than offer solutions we offer hope. The sort of hope encapsulated in this passage. Paul suggests that we may face all sorts of undesirable things in life,but there is the unshakeable reality of the love of God demonstrated through Jesus.

This hope is a sure confidence in the goodness of God no matter how bad the circumstances might be. It is a hope that faces head-on whatever challenges that lie ahead. It is a hope that doesn’t depend on our ability to so manage life that we sidestep difficulties. It is a hope that doesn’t so much get rid of our fears but enables us to keep them in check.

There is much that is uncertain and even dangerous in our world. We can go crazy trying to make it pass us by. Or we can exercise faith and hope and trust that in the midst of it all God is our sure and safe foundation,the great reality beyond all our other realities.

Blessings
David Reay