F/or I reason that the sufferings, of the time now, are not worthy to
the glory about to be revealed in us. For the eager expectation of the
creation eagerly expects the sons of God to be revealed. For in futility
the creation was made subordinate, not voluntarily, but through the
Subordinator, upon hope, because also the creation itself will be freed
from the slavery of destruction into the freedom of the glory of the
children of God. For we know that all the creation groans together and
suffers agony together until now. And not only, but also ourselves,
having the first-fruits of the Spirit, we also ourselves groan in
ourselves, eagerly expecting son-ship--the redemption of our bodies. /
Why is it that there is such suffering in this world? We watch the news
and wonder why God allows such devastating blizzards, hurricanes,
earthquakes, or tornados to happen. Closer to home, we can't figure out
the reason for our health troubles, our anxieties over our children, or
the financial stresses of our households. We question why God lets a
prophet like Jonah become fish-food for 3 days, or why He allows the
disciples to get caught in a freak wind-storm on the sea.
So we logicalize it out, and come to the conclusion that it just
shouldn't be this way. We think, "Suffering is bad, isn't it?" We
wrongly assume that "a loving heavenly Father surely can't desire for
us, His children, to suffer so, can He? We just can't fathom how human
suffering can fit into the plans of a all-loving, almighty God. Some are
tempted to blame God for this, assuming that He isn't loving enough,
just isn't strong enough to keep suffering from happening. But that's
not the answer.
Or we try to shift the blame for our suffering to other, more credible
sources. We think that as Christians, we don't deserve this suffering,
so it must be the fault of all those unbelievers out there. We figure
God is sending a hurricane message to all those Mardi Gras heathens in
New Orleans, and some of the residuals unfortunately effect a few
believers along the way. Or we think that in the grand battle between
God and Satan, human beings are simply hit by the collateral damage.
But deep down, you know better. "The soul that sinneth, it shall die."
This means that suffering and death result as the punishment for sins.
Jonah surely deserved death for defying God as he did. The
so-often-unbelieving disciples deserved to die for their lack of
trusting Jesus. So it is with all of us. The elderly die of old age
because they are sinners. Infants die in the womb because they are
sinners. Lazarus died, was raised, and then died again because He was
sinful. Sinners suffer & die.
It's been that way since the fall of Adam and Eve. Once they knew the
evil of sin, they (and all creation) experienced suffering and death.
Adam suffered the pains of laboring in the field to grow food, and Eve
had her own labor pains in childbirth. Plants & animals grew old,
withered, and died. People too. In futility, everything in creation was
subordinated to suffering & death because of sin.
But don't think this is a bad thing. It isn't! Suffering & death are
actually good things, as they fit into God's plan & purpose; for in them
is hope! For God's plan is to come to the rescue of the whole creation
in order to restore it to the way it was in the Garden of Paradise! And,
oddly, He would use both suffering and death to do this very thing!
Suffering and death would become the means by which God would redeem you
and me, and indeed all of creation to make it born again!
At the +, Christ Jesus the perfect Israelite under God's Law became the
spotless sacrificial Lamb for all mankind. He was crucified in your
place, suffering the death which you deserved because of your rebellion
against God and His commands. God the Father accepted the suffering &
death of His only-begotten Son in your place, so you would be adopted
into His family as sons of God through baptism. As sons, you receive the
inheritance of the Father which the perfect Son Jesus had earned for you.
For Jesus, Who gave up His body on the tree did so to redeem your body.
You eat His body given for you in the Supper for your forgiveness
today--the payment for that redemption. For in the same body which
ascended to heaven, Jesus returns on Judgment day to raise up your
body, glorious-- revealing your son-ship to all on that last day. The
new heaven & new earth will be remade on that day, paradise restored,
where no more suffering or death will ever be known.
So as you suffer, even in the pains of death, rejoice that your groans
are like that of a woman in child-birth, in eager expectation of new
birth, of new life in your Savior, Jesus the Christ. Amen.
John C. Drosendahl, Pastor
[email protected]
