Good Morning Friends,
“I consider that our present sufferings are
not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation
waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation
was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one
who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its
bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth
right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits
of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the
redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen
is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what
we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” (Romans 8:18-25)
There are sufferings in life. There can be no
denying that fact. It’s obvious in each of our lives and in the lives of those
that we see around us. Sin has extracted a high price from all human beings. We
experience relationship problems that are caused by our own selfishness and the
selfishness of others – our self-protecting and self-advancing natures. We face
disease and decay. There are only two options in life with respect to its
physical characteristics – die young or live to see your body slowly fall
apart. Industrialization belches out its pollution and with it comes an array
of problems and distresses – often that we do not recognize until the damage
has been done. Nations and religions and philosophies and languages and all
other mechanisms that divide man from man bring discord, fear, hatred, and
violence.
And God allows the suffering to continue. In
fact, Paul says that God allowed the suffering to enter the world in the first
place … “subjected to frustration … by the will of the one who subjected it.”
That speaks of God. He subjected the whole of creation to frustration so that
men and women would be driven by the frustration to seek something better.
And when we turn to God to seek that
something better then He satisfies our search through Jesus. In Jesus, there is
something better. And what lies ahead … in eternity … is even better than what
we experience now in Jesus. In fact, what lies ahead is so much better that its
glory can’t even be compared with what is happening here in this world. Put all
the sufferings of life on one side of the scale and the glory of heaven on the
other side and the scale is tipped completely toward heaven.
Remember, this life and this world are not
where our hope lay – thank God because this life and this world have been
marred by sin. Our hope is in Jesus and in the eternity that awaits us in Him.
His, by Grace,
Steve
No comments:
Post a Comment