Romans 5:1-5

5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)

Theology for Paul is about life, and not obtaining some abstract system. That is why in the middle of explaining concepts so theologically lofty that they give you a nose bleed thinking about them, Paul can effortlessly flow into daily life experience. Paul isn’t just a theologian for the academicians; he’s a practitioner for the street.

The Practicality of Pain. What is more practical than pain? Some say that love is the universal language. I think you could the say the same about pain. Our lives are so saturated with physical, emotional, and psychological suffering that it is sheer folly to live without the what and why answers for pain. If you don’t have those answers, sadly at some point in your life you will find yourself searching for them, for pain is inevitable.

Strategies for Pain. Those of us who have experienced a great amount of pain tend to see two alternatives: 1) face it and be destroyed by hopelessness, or 2) flee from it and survive as long as possible. Paul amazingly provides a third option: face it and find hope. That strategy is so astounding most of us don’t believe it is possible.

From Pain to Glory. Pain generally communicates two things about God to us; either he is angry with me or he cares little about me. Paul says the gospel points to another option. Jesus has taken our punishment for our moral failures and through faith in his work we then have total peace with God. No punishment is left for us, but instead we anticipate the experience of the glory and love of the infinitely beautiful God. Thus, through Jesus we get a treasure so brilliant that it outshines the horror of our suffering. This is the key to finding hope in pain. If your hope can only be found in comfort, then you have no hope. But if your hope is found in experiencing the full glory of God, then pain can actually help you in that process.

Pain Produces Hope. Paul’s logic is pretty simple. Pain drives us to endurance. As the army puts it, “pain is weakness leaving the body.” Pain toughens you. It turns a flabby, weak spirit into a toned, strong one. Endurance in turn leads to finer character. You are no longer so dependent on fragile circumstances. You can withstand the ebb and flow of suffering. Character in turn leads to hope. And the hope is not just that your pain will end very soon, but hope that you will one day experience and know God and see all death and pain give way to life and joy. Thus, the more pain, the greater endurance, the finer the character, and the deeper the hope. Thus, pain is no longer a senseless evil, but part of God’s good plan to give us what we need in this life, hope.