AS we read the two opening verses of Romans 5 we seem to march forward to a climax. Then as we read verse 3 we appear to drop downwards to an anticlimax. As we finish verse 2 our heads seem to touch the clouds of glory. As we open verse 3 our feet come to earth amidst the mire of tribulation.
But is the transition as great as it appears to be on the surface? We think not. There is, as a matter of fact, a very intimate connection between tribulations and glory: the one is preparatory to the other.
Paul glorified in tribulation because he well knew what it was designed to effect. It works wonders in the characters of Christians. It is the starting point whence a whole sequence of good things proceeds. The sequence is: — tribulations, patience, experience, hope, love. The patient, the experienced, the hopeful, the loving Christian is the one who has tasted tribulation, and gone through it with God.
God commends His love toward us in the death of the Saviour. His love shines upon us just as the sun shines down from heaven. We need to have room made in our hearts for the in-shining of His love, and this tribulation accomplishes. Only as His love is shed abroad in our hearts can it shine out through us to others.