One time, when one of our kids was really little, we decided to take them to the Toys ‘R’ Us.  Does anyone remember those stores?  Seems like they were around all my life then, poof, right when the kids were little, they were gone.  But thankfully for a few years there, Toys ‘r’ Us existed and my kids were able to go.  Many a happy hour were spent inside their doors.  But one time, when one of our kids was a toddler, we took them to the Toys R Us expecting one of those magical days at the toy store to appear.  Well, magical?  Not so much. Because do you remember how long those aisles were in the old Toys R Us?  They were like 40 yards long with a break in the middle, remember?  Well, we were coming down one aisle and there, just at hand-grabbing level, was a giant box of hand-sized bouncy balls.  Again, when I saw them, I didn’t panic or anything but I should have because as soon as my child saw them, they were drawn to that box like a bug to a blue light.  That child dug their little hands into that box of bouncy balls and flung one hard the length of the aisle.  “ZING”. Now, we’re responsible people and the first thought I had was of some elderly woman at the store to buy a present for a grandchild tripping on one of those bouncy balls my kid just threw.  So off I go running after it.  Natalie, wisely, stayed behind but while she was reacting, two more little hands went into the box emerging with two bouncy balls this time.  The child threw them in opposite directions.  ZING, ZING.  Now, three of these bouncy balls are going down the aisles at Toys R Us.  Needless to say, we’re embarrassed and tired, chasing those balls down was a big ordeal.

  I recall that mini trauma from several years back because life can be just like that.  All can be smooth sailing and then, whoosh, a ball gets flung in your life.   And maybe it’s not a ball so much as it is a difficult medical diagnosis or a pink slip at work or a child that’s struggling.  We can all look back to difficult times in our lives and remember with such great clarity how hard things got for a period of time.  Truth be told, we don’t like those times terribly much, not nearly as much as those times when everything is smooth sailing.        But, as we know, the smooth sailing time life offers us is precious and, oftentimes, terribly short.  More often is it the case that we’re navigating some difficulty or series of difficulties at any time.  And that can be exhausting but what’s interesting is that in our reading from Romans this morning, Paul, we are to rejoice in our sufferings.  Now, I don’t know about you, but I wasn’t rejoicing that morning’s minor suffering at the Toys R Us, nor do I have the greatest track record of rejoicing when difficulty arrives but that’s exactly what Paul counsels.  So, what can get us there?  What can fuel the fire for us to handle adversity like champs, even to the point where we are able to rejoice in our sufferings?  Well, to begin with, it takes a proper understanding of God and of yourself. 

  In Romans 5, Paul begins by sharing the great good news – we have been justified by faith.  What does he mean by that?  Simply put, to be justified is to be declared righteous, not guilty.  It’s a legal term really and one that is the opposite of guilty.  The Christian gospel is that despite being sinners, we are declared righteous by God in and through Jesus Christ.  And the means by which that happens is faith.  Now, lest you think that then becomes a work for you to do remember Paul in Ephesians tells us that faith itself is a gift of God, so that “no one will boast.”    

  John Piper – “What happens to make a person a Christian – a child of God?  First, the gospel is made known to him – the historical fact that God sent his Son into the world to die for sinners and to rise from the dead triumphant over death and hell for all who believe in Him.  The Holy Spirit opens the heart to see in this gospel that Christ is trustworthy and more to be desired than all human treasures.  And so, the heart trusts in Christ for all that God promises to be for us in Him.  When that faith happens, we are justified before God.  In other words, by that faith the Spirit of God unites us to Christ so that His death becomes our death, and His life becomes our life.  God laid on Him the iniquities that we performed, and God laid on us the righteousness that he performed.  He takes our sin, though He didn’t perform it.  And we take His righteousness, though we didn’t perform it.  And so, by the faith that unites us to Christ we stand before God forgiven for all our sins and righteous with the imputed righteousness of Christ.”  That’s the Good News!  And with that faith which is itself the gift of God, we find the most glorious thing of all – peace with God.