A Grace-Shaped Life: Romans 9-16Sample

Abounding in Hope

May the God of hope fill you with all joy. (Romans 15:13)

Why does Paul want God to fill us with “all joy and peace in believing” (v. 13)? It’s not only to make us happy. Joy and peace lead to a hope that explodes into glorifying praise among all nations. This is the ultimate ripple effect of lives transformed by God. The explosion begins with Jesus‘s coming to confirm God’s Old Testament promises to the Jews (v. 8). Believing Jews then praise God among the Gentiles (v. 9), inviting them to “rejoice” (v. 10), and so “in him will the Gentiles hope” (v. 12).

While Jesus commands us to “make disciples of all the nations” (Matt. 28:19), obedience by itself reduces the mission to a burden. Missionary theologian Lesslie Newbigin says, “Mission begins with a kind of explosion of joy. The news that the rejected and crucified Jesus is alive is something that cannot possibly be suppressed. It must be declared. Who could be silent about such a fact?” (The Gospel in a Pluralistic Society). If our lives or churches lack a missional heart, it’s not due to a deficit of financial resources or spiritual instruction, but simply a deficit of joy.

If you want to cultivate a heart that is on fire for the mission of God in the world, nurture your joy in God’s love for you. That’s what Jesus did, “who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross” (Heb. 12:2).

As you pray, ask God to fill you with joy.