Patient Hopefulness

Romans 8: 24-25

“For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen?  But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”

People get impatient.  Sooner or later, every one of us, no matter how patient we usually are, become impatient about something.  It is human nature and it is universal. 

The people in the early Christian Church were no different.  They believed that the promise of new life in Christ meant that they would be transformed quickly and soon, no matter how much Paul and the other apostles told them otherwise.  Many of them also believed that their transformation would happen from the outside in, without any effort or sacrifice on their part, again, despite the teachings of their leaders that transformation begins within and takes time, effort, and patience. 

So, as time went on, some early Christians became impatient.  They abandoned their faith, they became frustrated and angry with Paul and their other leaders, they gave up hope. 

These verses from Paul’s letter to the Christian community in Rome are part of an ongoing conversation within the early church about the nature of the hope that inspired it.  Is that hope dependent on a quick resolution, or will it survive the long haul?  The fact that the Christian faith still persists, and is still transforming human lives 2,000 years later answers that question, but we still get impatient, frustrated and angry, and we still need to learn the spiritual practice of patient hopefulness.