Consider this passage with me:
Romans 8:18-27 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.
This passage indicates that the creation is groaning because of the current age of corruption. It longs to be the habitation of beauty and worship instead of a theater of violence and sorrow. I can just imagine earthquakes and storms as terrible groans that the elements express in an anxious protest against the depravity of these times.
This personification takes on a new dimension when Paul compares our redeemed souls with the creation. We who are saved join the creation in groaning for the resurrection. I effect we are interceding for the world because we are tied to it and its sorrow. The earth was cursed when man fell and it will be renewed when the “children of God” are revealed.
Ask yourself this: Do I groan for the nations? Do I want Christ’s Kingdom to come so bad that it is like labor pains inside me? This age of twilight is causing our hearts to hope for light and to groan because of the grey. Maybe you’ve been groaning but you don’t know why? May you find hope in the promise of the coming of our Lord, and may we be filled with longing Jesus like a bride longs for her groom.
Joe, your thoughts truly do inspire me. Like I expressed last night, it is really a wonderful experience to be spurred in faith and the kingdom by your eloquent and true words. Thanks for the blessing. - Grace
ReplyDeleteI’m caught in this powerful image of raw emotion, intense surrender, and intimate closeness to God. It seems like I want to be close enough to God that my heart and soul and entire body does groan… but then another sense wants to hoard my complacency like a blanket of comfort (I don’t believe I’m alone in this either). I pray that these verses do become alive to us though- because when we align ourselves intimately to Him, we are driven to do things for Him- to bring forth this new birth of life to a world that is just groaning in these pains. Thanks for posting that Joe. I pray we all long for our hearts to break as God's does.
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