Our Chapel Service has just ended. Listening to the sermon and utilizing a text from Romans 5 verses 1 to 5, I got a theme to write.
Miserable and lonely Christians abound in our time. Though not documented, we know firsthand of too many stories of broken lives and broken families and even those who suffer depression. Christians are not exempted from this common human woes.
Moreover, the quest for counterfeit hopes continues: changing our external circumstances, changing our behaviors, changing the way we think, believing in ourselves, and just trusting Jesus more. Source. Why are these counterfeit hopes? They have been explained in this article.
Reflecting on this morning's passage, I got that the central idea is all about joy that comes from justification. The last one is a heavy theological word. The term simply "refers to the act of God whereby He declares a sinner to be righteous before Him."
As I analyzed the passage, I came up with a central question. It is focused on Gospel joy.
Gospel joy is rooted in justification
To be justified before God and remain miserable and lonely is an anomaly. Moreover, claiming to be justified and looking elsewhere to cure one's loneliness is also a contradiction. If the claim is true, one's life should be characterized with joy.
The apostle Paul identified two outcomes of justification: experiencing peace with God and having access to the grace of God made available in Jesus Christ. Many people are living in hostility with themselves, with others, and with nature because this kind of vertical peace is alien to them. This is the essence of Shalom: theological, psychological, social, and environmental harmony.
Gospel joy is tested and proven in times of suffering
Here, the role of knowledge is very important. If you do not know the blessings that come from suffering, your life will be bitter. The apostle identified three blessings of suffering, each connected to the preceding like a chain: perseverance, character, and hope.
Gospel joy is inspired by hope.
Disappointment and hopelessness go together. No matter how difficult your situation is, if you have this kind of hope rooted in the gospel of Christ, you will always smile at whatever life throws at you. Such a kind of peace and joy the world does not know. Christians experience this hope that inspires joy because of God's love and the presence of the Holy Spirit, whom we receive as a gift from God.
Overall, since Christians have this gospel joy rooted in justification, tested and useful in times of suffering, and inspired by hope because of God's love and gift of the Holy Spirit, there is no reason for us to either keep living in sorrow and misery or to continue searching for alternatives in our quest to live a happy life.