That We Might Have Hope

"For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope."
-- Romans 15:4

So many of the passages in the Bible carry great meaning, including this one which, in essence, tells us why the Books themselves were written - so that we might have hope. And this one sentence conveys many impressions. Paul wrote these words within his ministry to the Gentiles, where he taught of the wonders of Christ, the basis of the church, and even the reason for the scriptures recorded through time. He taught as if his students knew little of the subject, and in that manner covered the material thoroughly. And we benefit from its reading.

Paul starts out by assuring us that everything was written for our learning. It is easy to consider that when he says "our learning", he is talking about us, you and I and all that try to follow the teachings of Jesus, that try to walk His path. But Paul was not speaking to Jews or converted Jews. He was writing to Gentiles and referring to himself and them as "our", to a group that could have included as its majority those who merely showed curiosity in this Jesus of Nazareth and wanted to learn more. So by this pronouncement, Paul lets us know right off that the Bible, the inspired word of God, was written for all mankind, not just some subset known as "believers" or another called "God's chosen people". No, it is provided for all of us mortal humans, so that we may read and learn.

Separating the second half of the sentence two pieces, Paul next uses a rather curious phrase: "through the patience and comfort of the scriptures". Patience is a trait normally attributed to a living being, usually a person. So is Paul saying we should be patient while reading the scriptures? Perhaps. But more likely, Paul is applying the word patience to the living word of God as recorded in the scriptures. As we learned earlier, the Word is God, so here we see yet another example of God's steadfast patience with us and love of us. His word offers us patience and comforts us even as we read it. As we read, we learn and are comforted by the word through God's own patience and love.

Finally, we come to the answer to the unspoken question: Why was all of this done? Why did so many people take the time, the trouble, even the risk, to record all the scriptures, to preserve the word of God? What other benefit comes from our learning? That we might have hope. We learn that God loves us, that He is ever patient with us, that He will comfort us when our hearts are heavy. We find hope in His words through the darkest night. He provides refuge from the storm. And He prepares a place for us at His table, so that if we only believe in Jesus the Christ as our Savior and Lord, we shall live forever in the glorious presence of God. What more could any of us hope for? What more could be given?

God gives us so much, while asking for so little of us in return. Yet even though He offers us Heaven, He knows how weak we truly are. And thus he provides us with one more wonder. He gives us His word, that we may learn the truth of life and understand the price He paid for our salvation. And that we might have hope; hope that will drive us onward when the path grows difficult, hope that will light our way when darkness falls, hope that can make us push one step further, hope that can sustain us when others turn against us, hope that we will see His face, His glorious face, and sit by His side forever.

That we might have hope, God give us His all.