“Therefore since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God though our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us”. Rom 5:1-5In the film "It is a wonderful life" the main actor, due to a financial crisis, gets depressed and feels he has let his family down to the point that he wishes he had never been born. Only when a kind of "angel" makes his wish comes true he realises how important and helpful he was to his family and friends and also how wonderful it was to have so much love around in spite of the struggles of life.
Paradoxically, the simplicity of love is something very complicated to deal with nowadays. It seems like an application form must be filled in to verify some pre-requisites, putting our trust more in the way things appear than in believing that the circumstances can be transformed by the simple but deep desire of setting our eyes on the Lord.
Once we acknowledge the purity of God's love, his unfailing care and unsurpassed mercy, we will see a different picture beyond the obstacles of the world, a stage in which we:
(1) are led to "restoration" instead of "condemnation"
(2) understand "grace" above "law"
(3) deal with "forgiveness" no matter what "disappointments" we have
(4) conquer by "faith" despite "needs"
Although it seems to be an endless process, our eyes are set on the final reward, the prize of having the Lord on our side, and that is what makes our life so wonderful.
“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…put your hope in the Lord both now and for evermore."
Heb 12:2; Psalm 131:3
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