Romans 8: 18 - 27

18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. ¹⁹ For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope ²¹ that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

²² We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³ Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴ For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

²⁶ In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. ²⁷ And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

Groaning.

Decay is everywhere, and it can be quite depressing if you think about it too much. Look at the rotting leaves on the ground at this time of year. Build a wooden fence in the garden, and the wood will need some kind of preservative on it to extend its life. But not just once – it needs doing regularly, otherwise the wood will just rot away in the rain.

Way back on the 8^th Oct we looked at the consequences of sin in Genesis 3. Because Adam and Eve sinned, there was a curse on them, and on the snake and on the whole of creation. It is this curse that Paul is referring to in today’s reading – ‘creation was subjected to frustration’ (v. 20), ‘bondage to decay’ (v. 21), ‘the whole creation has been groaning’ (v. 22)

When Jesus returns, he will make all things new. We will be given new, resurrection bodies, and the whole of creation will be renewed – no longer groaning, no longer decaying, but made new like it was in the Garden of Eden before sin came into the world! It’s a world of perfection that we long for. The creation itself waits in eager expectation for that day, and so should we.

In the opening verse of our reading, Paul writes, ‘I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.’ (v. 18) That’s quite a statement, when you consider how much Paul suffered for his faith! People reading this might be going through various degrees of suffering. But without wishing to belittle your sufferings, or gloss over them, we can rejoice in this statement that Paul makes – that no matter how bad your sufferings, they are simply not worth comparing with the glory that will come to us in Christ!

And finally we have more ‘groaning’. Not only is the whole of creation groaning, but we are groaning inwardly as we wait for our resurrection bodies that we will receive when Christ returns. Maybe your body creaks, and, like me, you make that ‘old person’ noise when you stand up! Let’s look ahead eagerly to the day when Jesus will come again. And also, in verses 26 and 27, Paul talks about a different kind of groaning. This is groaning in prayer, when we cannot put our prayers into words. We want to call out to God but we simply can’t find the words to say. Maybe you have known this experience – the thing we want to pray about is beyond words for us. And when this happens, the Holy Spirit himself prays on our behalf. He ‘intercedes for us through wordless groans.’

 

Prayer

Lord, we join with all creation in looking forward to that glorious day of re-creation when Jesus come again. There are times when our heart longs for you in prayer, and we cannot find the words to cry out. Thank you that the Holy Spirit will always intercede for us in prayer. Amen.