“I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us.” (Romans 8:18) Here is yet another piece of the astonishing gospel of Romans 8. Suffering is a given in the New Testament. Suffering is not a glitch; it’s the norm. Jesus suffered, so why wouldn’t we suffer along with him? But God is up to something, getting ready to take all our pain and tears and failures and turn them on their heads in the most beautiful way. On the other side of everything that hurts and disturbs us is a glory that’s going to outshine all of it. Our groans and tears anticipate that God has something wonderful in store for us. (8:23) Every ache within us anticipates healing. And we’re not the only ones anticipating. Creation itself is leaning forward, unblinking, waiting with “eager longing” (8:19) for God to take all that is broken and put it back together. Just like us humans, all of creation is trapped in a state of decay, but not trapped forever. God is moving us, and all things, toward his inevitable end – resurrection and glory.
Yes, resurrection. It’s not just for Jesus. If we were asked what we hope will happen after we die, our standard answer would probably be – heaven, but that’s not the answer Romans 8 is giving us. (In fact, the word heaven doesn’t show up anywhere in Romans 8.) “Going to heaven when we die” is not the end of the discussion, not even close. Those in Christ will experience the same kind of resurrection Jesus did. Paul already said it: “He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal (that is, death-ridden) bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.” (8:11) These aging bodies are not beyond God’s ability or desire to be redeemed just as all creation is set to be redeemed. Glory is the Bible’s word for God’s radiant, beautiful presence and reign. And that glory is going to permeate every inch of our bodies and the whole cosmos.
Our journey in God is moving us to be “conformed to the image of his son.” (8:29) Church, we are not becoming good people; we are becoming Jesus. That’s how our story ends. God already decided it. Before you and I ever wanted it for ourselves, God wanted it for us and began his transforming work in us.If this seems too good to be true, that’s the point, in a way. God’s eternal vision for us and the cosmos requires more than a merely human imagination. It requires hope. “Hope that is seen is not hope, for who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” (8:25) God is drawing us to imagine what we would have thought to be impossible. Anything less ceases to be good news.
This is our future. This is what all of our groans are pointing to. Let us be comforted, yes. But also, let us have our eyes opened. Let the vision of Romans 8 be our vision. Let us see the whole picture. Next time we groan, let’s know it for what it is – a God-given longing for the redemption of all things. Let God’s future invade our present. The word for that is: hope. Let hope change the way we think and feel about everything, the way we receive every moment of every day. What will it look like to walk in the Spirit this week? And what will it look like to walk daily in the hope for redemption and glory?
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