In today’s Advent reflection, Paul reminds us that God’s heart has always been for all people and that Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise to bless every nation. Because Christ has welcomed us with open arms, we’re called to welcome others with that same generosity — choosing unity over division, mercy over suspicion, and peace over agitation. Romans 15 shows us that God’s family is far bigger and wider than we often imagine, and we’re invited to live like that’s true. As Paul closes with his beautiful blessing — that the God of hope would fill us with joy, peace, and an abundance of hope through the Holy Spirit — we’re reminded that these Advent gifts don’t come from perfect circumstances but from God’s presence with us. Today, we’re invited to embody that welcome, that unity, and that hope as we move through our day.

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Well good morning, y’all. It’s good to be with you today on this chilly week. It is cold out there. I’m always cold anyway, so I’ve got my little heater going in my office right now. Winter has beaten me into submission after about… one week. But even so, it’s good to be together as we continue in God’s Word.

We’re walking through our Advent devotional guide, and as I’ve told you, I don’t read ahead. So every day is a little bit of a surprise for me too. Sometimes they split a chapter into two readings—and today is one of those days. Yesterday we read Romans 15:4–6, and today we pick up right where that left off.

We’re in Romans 15:7–13:

Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in order that he might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written:
“Therefore I will confess you among the Gentiles, and sing praises to your name”;
and again he says, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people”;
and again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise him”;
and again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse shall come, the one who rises to rule the Gentiles; in him the Gentiles shall hope.”
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

So we see here Paul tying together a theme that runs all the way back to Genesis. When you think about Genesis—when you think about the calling of Abraham—one of the foundational promises God makes is this:
“Through you, all the nations of the earth will be blessed.”

From the very beginning, God’s heart has been for all peoples. Not just one tribe, one ethnicity, one language, one group—but for all the nations to know His mercy. So Paul is showing us that Jesus is the fulfillment of that promise. Jesus didn’t come just for Israel; He came through Israel for the sake of the whole world.

And then Paul takes that truth and makes it incredibly practical. He says, “Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you.” In other words:
If God has opened His arms wide to us, then we must open our arms wide to others.

This has been Paul’s theme through this whole chapter—unity, harmony, bearing with one another, lifting up the weak, living in peace. And here we see the reason why:
Because God’s family is bigger than we sometimes imagine.
Because the table of Jesus Christ is wider than we sometimes want it to be.
Because God’s mission has always been for all people.

And then Paul lands this plane with one of the greatest blessings in all of Scripture:
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

That’s Advent, right there.
Hope. Joy. Peace.
Not because things are perfect. Not because the world is calm. Not because we have everything together.
But because the God of hope is with us.

So today, as we go about our lives, let’s live out this passage.
Let’s welcome as we have been welcomed.
Let’s embrace unity where the world prefers division.
Let’s lean into mercy where the world leans into suspicion.
And most of all, let’s be people who abound in hope—because the Holy Spirit is at work within us.

Thanks for being with me today. We’ll continue tomorrow with the next reading from our Advent guide. Stay warm out there, friends.