Romans 8:18-23 18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. 20For 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 glorious freedom 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 as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
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I doubt you need any convincing that we are living in a broken world and that we humans have been fractured to the core. The news we receive daily from TV, blogs, our doctors, and environmental scientists all simply confirm what we have subconsciously already known: Our humanity is severely fragmented, all our human systems are flawed, and even creation itself has been deeply damaged; everything is in need of restoration.
The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 8:22 that the, “whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.”
So they waited and we too also wait. And wait.
It takes time; but it’ll certainly come in God’s perfect timing.
Until that point, all of humanity plus all God’s creation continue to groan over the suffering, the sin, and the pervasive disintegration both seen and unseen, both in the world and also inside ourselves. Together we all wait with great expectation for that joyous day when our Lord Jesus makes all things perfectly right. When all things will be remade anew in their pre-Fall restored perfection.
In this Advent season, may we (with humility and expectation) quiet our souls with both a meaningful remembering of His Advent, which points directly to that final great restoration in Jesus Christ, and may we take solace that He is with us now daily via His Holy Spirit.
#Wade
Letting The Text Speak 