But hope that can be seen isn’t really hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we don’t have yet, we wait for it patiently.
Whenever we pray to our God and Father, we remember the work that your faith produces, the service that’s the result of your love, and the strength to continue that comes from your hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
And that’s not all. We have the first signs of what the Spirit will give us fully, but we also are groaning inside as we wait for our adoption to be finalized.
I, John, am your brother and your partner in the suffering, the kingdom, and the patient endurance of Jesus. I was on the island of Patmos because of God’s word and the testimony of Jesus.
But the seed that fell on good soil stands for those who have good and honest hearts. Those people hear the message, keep it in their hearts, remain faithful, and produce a good crop.
“Everyone who’s supposed to be captured will be captured, and everyone who’s supposed to be killed by a sword will be killed by a sword.” So God’s people must be patient and faithful.