Waiting on Righteousness
"Through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness." Galatians 5:5
We are like kids on Christmas. We can't wait to open the gifts. We don't want to sit through dinner any longer, we want the promise on the inside of the box with a bow and paper. This is us waiting on righteousness.
When we embraced this Christian thing we heard, and believed we would change. We would be more Christlike. But it comes slowly. And we are waiting on it more often than not. And we need hope in the waiting.
"Like you, I need hope today. I need hope to believe that one day I will be completely righteous. But when I survey my life, I have to admit I find that difficult to believe. My conscience is grieved and stricken by my lack of love, my pride, and my selfishness, yet even so I have a niggling sense that I'm still not being fully honest about my sin. Today, right now, I need faith to believe that I can indeed hope for righteousness. But where will faith to hope come from? Surely not from me, not from an examination of my own record. No, this faith is the result of the Spirit's work. It's only as we mediate upon the gospel's promise that the Spirit creates faith within our hearts. Yes, we can believe that complete righteousness will one day be ours. This is our hope. This is the assurance that the Spirit gently yet continually brings..."
"While we yet await the assurance that we will, one day, be completely changed, as with our little children on Christmas morning we must be patient and hopeful. We must not give up in despair or seek to anesthetize our conscience with the shallow delights of this world. And then, even when we do give in to our wandering heart, we must remember our Father's promise. True righteousness and holiness will be ours."
Lenten devotion from Comforts from the Cross by Elyse Fitzpatrick. Day 22.
We are like kids on Christmas. We can't wait to open the gifts. We don't want to sit through dinner any longer, we want the promise on the inside of the box with a bow and paper. This is us waiting on righteousness.
When we embraced this Christian thing we heard, and believed we would change. We would be more Christlike. But it comes slowly. And we are waiting on it more often than not. And we need hope in the waiting.
"Like you, I need hope today. I need hope to believe that one day I will be completely righteous. But when I survey my life, I have to admit I find that difficult to believe. My conscience is grieved and stricken by my lack of love, my pride, and my selfishness, yet even so I have a niggling sense that I'm still not being fully honest about my sin. Today, right now, I need faith to believe that I can indeed hope for righteousness. But where will faith to hope come from? Surely not from me, not from an examination of my own record. No, this faith is the result of the Spirit's work. It's only as we mediate upon the gospel's promise that the Spirit creates faith within our hearts. Yes, we can believe that complete righteousness will one day be ours. This is our hope. This is the assurance that the Spirit gently yet continually brings..."
"While we yet await the assurance that we will, one day, be completely changed, as with our little children on Christmas morning we must be patient and hopeful. We must not give up in despair or seek to anesthetize our conscience with the shallow delights of this world. And then, even when we do give in to our wandering heart, we must remember our Father's promise. True righteousness and holiness will be ours."
Lenten devotion from Comforts from the Cross by Elyse Fitzpatrick. Day 22.
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