Romans 5:3-5

Been a rough couple days emotionally.  I would love to be able to say why. . . but really I don't know.  I'm always finding my emotions coming a few days after things happen, and sometimes things blindside us, but I spent a two hour car ride trying to find a conclusion and I couldn't reach it.  So maybe chalk it up to grief/mood swings/whatever.  I hate to blow things off to not having a cause but sometimes it's more important to focus on what's next.

So. .  I went to Romans.  And it's this sentence that I've been mulling over.

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.

A familiar passage, and encouraging. . . but there is so much more there if we look at the original language.

(PS- I just go here for basic research.  I have a desire to learn the intricacies of language and verb forms and such but I do not have that knowledge on my own).

So, some interesting words.  The word "rejoice" sometimes is translated "glory" or "boast," which is a much closer idea.  The word means to have one's "head up high."  Paul uses this word a lot in 2 Corinthians as he is defending his character and ministry position.  The imagery behind "suffering" is a literal pressure, being in a narrow spot and being abraded on either side.  "Endurance" is pretty straightforward (some translations "steadfastness"), the idea of remaining under.  "Character" is another interesting word; the idea of something that has been tested and proven to be good, or to pass the required marks.  It's a positive word, the idea that a standard has been met and it gets a stamp of approval- it's a proof of being found genuine.  The word "hope" here specifically has the flavor of an expectation of something that is certain to happen.  There is anticipation, there is activity- it is not a dormant, passive hope.  Finally, the verb for "poured" is the image of something being filled beyond its capacity, like the wineskins overflowing.  And that is the picture here of God's agape love.

So here is the Ben Beck Expanded Translation of Romans 5:3-5 (©2017 BBET, v. 1)-

And while that is great, there's also enough of God for the hard times.   We can hold our heads up in spite of the pressures of this life; the abrasions and stresses bring us the opportunity to hold fast to God's strength, and it's in those times of enduring under the weight that we will be made genuine.  When we pass the test, we will know that God has brought us through.  We can confidently give God the glory for this work, because His great love is gushed into our hearts in endless quantity from the Holy Spirit, which God gave us for this reason.