December 3

Romans 15:13

¹³ May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

An Active, Overflowing Hope

by Jason Diffenderfer

Paul wrote this encouragement to Christians in Rome, praying a blessing over them as they faced persecution and continued in-fighting between Jews and Gentiles within the church. He spoke of working together as one body, of lifting each other up, and he reflected on what steps or disciplines we must follow to develop a stronger faith.

Romans 15:4 reflects on how our active learning of scripture helps us. “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.”

Hope. It is a beautiful concept, but so often, we see it as a gift that we are powerless to control, something that Jesus bestows on some without granting to others. We do not understand that while hope is a gift, it is one that is renewed – one that is renewing – through the active and disciplined work of our Christian faith. 

In life, there are many “shoulds.” We should eat our vegetables. We should exercise daily. We should get at least seven hours of sleep. All of these “shoulds” build the healthy habits that improve our health and wellbeing.

Do we think of the “shoulds” in our Christian faith, and what they cultivate? 

As Paul encourages to these Roman Christians, we, too, should read and reflect on Jesus’s teachings to build our spiritual endurance and give us the encouragement to continue on. We should grow our faith through prayer and meditation on His word. We should serve and build up others as part of the Body of Christ. We should share the Good News of Jesus Christ’s very real birth, death and resurrection which paid for our sins and offers us eternal life.

The gifts that come with these spiritual “shoulds” contrast so sharply with those previously mentioned earthly “shoulds.” They aren’t temporary, and they don’t run out. No, as it says in 15:13, the fruits of living in pursuit of Him are joy and peace, which will allow us to “overflow in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

By cultivating this personal, disciplined faith, this relationship with Jesus Christ, we will experience joy and peace through the Holy Spirit, which, in turn, will power a source of hope that will be more that we can contain.

As we go through Advent, may we spend this time meditating on hope – on the spiritual “shoulds” that can take us past just living in this world to experience the peace, joy and hope that come from a rich, personal relationship with Jesus that will point our eyes to the eternal.

About the Author

Jason Diffenderfer

Jason Diffenderfer is the Vice President for University Advancement and joined Baylor University in March 2024. In that capacity, he is responsible for creating a strategic vision for the next phase of Baylor’s Division of Advancement that will provide a foundation for a future philanthropic campaign expanding on the success of Give Light, Baylor’s $1.5 billion comprehensive fundraising campaign which concluded in the summer of 2024. He also fosters partnerships across campus and among alumni, parents and friends of the University to identify, engage and cultivate current and future donors. Working closely with Baylor’s vice president of business and finance and chief financial officer, he assists in leveraging revenue streams that allow University leadership to make informed decisions in fulfillment of Baylor’s Christian mission. 

He came to Baylor from the University at Buffalo, where he served as vice president for university advancement. He is an experienced higher education administrator with a record of success in planning and executing philanthropic campaigns, raising major and principal gifts, managing staff and building programs. At Buffalo – a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities (AAU) and ranked No. 36 among public institutions by U.S. News & World Report – Jason served on the president’s cabinet and shepherded the university in surpassing its $1 billion Boldly Buffalo campaign goal, while also setting a fiscal year fundraising record with more than $123 million in commitments. Prior to Buffalo, Jason served in various advancement leadership roles at the University of Louisville, supporting the university’s successful $1 billion Charting Our Course campaign.