We are considering a passage from the beginning of chapter five of Paul’s letter to the Romans:
Romans 5:3-5 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 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.
It is normal for parents to love their children. Sometimes children do not see this clearly. It may be that children resent the discipline of their parents, or maybe they are denied something that they want because their parents have more wisdom as to whether that thing, or the desire for it, is good and helpful.
Children need to know that they are loved rather than indulged. Indulged children are given all that they desire. But the interesting thing is that children eventually despise indulgent parents. The children eventually realise that permissive parents are not interested in their children’s growth.
We need to have a certainty of belief that 1. God loves His children 2. He knows what is best for His children. 3. He wants His children to grow in righteousness.
Paul is telling us in this short Bible section that God’s love can be trusted. God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. The meaning here is past, present, and future. God’s love has been poured, is being poured, and will continue to be poured into our hearts.
So, from Romans five, we can see that joy can actually grow through what seem like hard times.
Paul is saying we can rejoice because we know that God loves us, knows what is best and wants to develop us, therefore He has purpose in our pain.
Rather than resenting what we perceive to be sufferings, we can be thankful that God is Holy and Righteous. Thankful that He confronts our sin and provides grace. Thankful that He is committed to our righteousness.
So, what do we, and our students, need to know? The normality, and value of struggle, sadness, grief, and disappointment, knowing that it is not wasted but purposeful.
Blessings
Brian