Romans 8:18-21
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed to us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the children 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.
“Into each life some rain must fall!” Suffering is a natural part of the human condition, yet how many of us, when faced with heartache and pain cry out to God, “Why me, Lord?” I once heard someone say, “Perhaps a better question might be, ‘Why not me?’” What is so extraordinary about any of us that we should escape those parts of the human condition that we don’t like?
In a way, I think I have an answer to that “Why me, Lord?” question. Ever have too much of a good thing? Ever get something you really, really enjoy, say like a Five-pound box of chocolates, for you chocoholics? You sat down and opened the box intending to just gorge yourself silly. About 2/3 of the way into the box you’ve just about had it, and you realize if you have to eat one more bite, you’ll lose the rest you’ve already eaten. That’s “too much of a good thing.” Or say you’re a lover of rain. You just love to hear the patter of raindrops on your window at night while you’re all cozy by a warm fire, however, in this instance, it’s the last two days of your three week camping vacation, and it’s been three weeks of solid rain. Everything you own is wet, including the firewood, and it doesn’t appear that it’s going to stop any time soon. Another example of, “too much of a good thing?”
Sometimes, it takes being deprived of something to make you really appreciate what you have or what’s available. You hardly ever have hamburgers at home, but spend an extended vacation in a country where they’ve never heard of hamburgers, and see how good they taste when you finally get back home!
Now, I could be really flippant and tell you to rejoice at your sufferings–that you should be glad when you suffer, because the more you suffer, the greater you will appreciate the glory that awaits you in the “Sweet bye-and-bye.” Some people get the idea that good Christians never cry. They just grin and bear it, rejoicing at each heartache because the more the pain the greater the gain–more joy in the hereafter. But I don’t think that’s what Paul is talking about.
Paul is waxing poetic. And Paul’s message is, no matter what the problem or difficulty is, hold on to hope. It is the way of the world to suffer and to be frustrated by that suffering. Yet, even the “natural” world expects something better. Even those who profess not to know God expect “happily ever after.”
In Matthew 19:24 Jesus said, “…I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the realm of God.” Now some people might say that Jesus said that because Jesus didn’t like rich people, but that’s not true. Jesus’ point was that people who already have all they need and want of worldly things are less apt to search for God than those who are suffering and need help.
Paul is saying here that God allows problems and difficulties to “frustrate” the world for a reason. A world without God is a natural world of death and decay. It is God’s hope that problems and frustrations will cause the world to turn to God for relief. Even the richest of the rich are subject to problems and frustrations. Consequently, rich or poor, those who turn to God–even if at first their reasons for turning to God are for selfish motivations–all who turn to God are welcomed into God’s family as beloved children of God, and the children of God are free!
Romans 8:22-25
We know that the whole of 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 first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as children, 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 they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
Since the beginning of the world, all of creation has struggled–not just humans, but the plant and animal world as well. God created the world to be completely interconnected–in symbiotic relationship as it were, living together in cooperative harmony. But with the fall of Adam and Eve everything changed, the struggle began and continues to this day. Paul calls the struggle “groanings as in the pains of childbirth.”
Not only the rest of creation, but even we who already have a relationship with the Holy Spirit, even we fret and worry and struggle–we have doubts. Even though we know we are already saved, even though we know we are God’s children, still we keep wondering and looking for that salvation, wanting proof that we are indeed God’s children–that not only our souls but even our bodies have been redeemed–that one day our souls will once again rejoin our bodies and we will live again.
We want to know all the answers and we want proof–proof that God loves us–proof that we are indeed God’s children–proof that we are saved–proof that we will all partake in God’s glorious realm. Paul point out that we placed our faith and trust in Jesus in the hope that in doing so we would be saved. In doing so, we were indeed saved. However, hope and proof do not go together. Proof cancels out the necessity for hope. Paul says, but hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? The author of Hebrews 11:1 wrote, “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” The essence of faith is hope.
Romans 8:26-27
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And God, who searches our hearts, knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.
In the overview for chapter eight in one of the definitions I showed for the Greek word for Holy Spirit was one who acts as a legal advocate–who stands beside you as in a court of law. I believe that this is the essence of the Spirit that Paul is expressing in these passages. Simply because we are human beings it is in our nature to have shortcomings, to have weakness, some of which we might not even be aware. Further, though we want what is best for ourselves, most of the time we don’t even know what that is. We want to grow mentally and spiritually, but we don’t have the foggiest notion of how to accomplish it. In truth, we can’t know, because that also involves the lives of those with whom we interact, and we certainly can’t know what’s best for them. Not to worry, it is the responsibility of the Holy Spirit to guide and direct us–and to plead our case for us to God. The Spirit stands up for us before God and defends us.
If the Holy Spirit is our defender before God, then it stands to reason that the Holy Spirit is the only one eligible to be our accuser. In spite of the fact that many, many human beings seem always happy and willing to step into the Holy Spirit’s shoes to tell us what is wrong with our lives and what we can do to correct the error of our ways, that is the prerogative of only the Holy Spirit.
It is only God through the Holy Spirit who can know our hearts, and it is only God who can judge us. Only God can know the truth of our spirits. Only God can know what our intentions are. It is the intentions of our hearts on which we are judged, not merely our actions. You see, the intentions of our hearts are influenced and molded by our history and environment. Only when all of these factors are taken into consideration can a rational judgment for or against us be made, and only God can make that call. Thank God!
LIFE APPLICATION