The God of Hope
Today’s reading: Romans 15:1-22
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” - Romans 15:13 ESV
Again and again, Paul uses the Greek word elpis to express what living the Christian life is like for ALL who have saving faith in Jesus. Elpis is literally translated as “expectation” or “to look forward with confidence to that which is good and beneficial.” (Louw, Nida)
This means that no matter the circumstances we face today, we have good reason to get out of bed and face whatever awaits us. The Christian should be the most positive encouraging of all people.
It really started with the writing of the Old Testament documents (15:4) and it came to fullness in the Good News. Let’s lift up our eyes with expectation of what God may do next.
L. Keck insightfully comments, “By coming back to this theme, Paul draws a thread through the entire letter and shows that in Scripture God has indeed promised in advance the gospel for all humanity (1:2).”