The Inheritance We Hope For

*Romans 8:18-28
¹⁸For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. ¹⁹For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. 20For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope ²¹that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. ²²For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. ²³And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. ²⁴For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? ²⁵But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.
²⁶In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; ²⁷and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. ²⁸And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

I know it has been a really long time since I have posted, and to anyone who is still a faithful follower of this blog, I sincerely apologize for the long absence. School has been a bit troublesome.

I was working on Outlines for NT Survey when I ran across this section. Taking a class on the book of Job has really showed me how everything in the Bible is connected to God's plan for Salvation, and it has caused me to look at this particular passage in a whole new light.

Suffering and evil in this world aren't just things that we have to put up with until our hope is fulfilled at Christ's second coming, they are part of God's divine plan to exact that inheritance. They aren't just called "pains of childbirth" (v. 22) in this passage to indicate the suffering of creation, but also to demonstrate that these sufferings are bringing about God's ultimate plan for Salvation, which is why we can be assured that absolutely EVERYTHING works out for the good of all those who love God and are called by Him!

If that isn't something to get up and dance around the room about, I'm not really sure what is...

*[Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible]