The earth quakes, ending thousands of lives as buildings collapse. A train derails, spewing toxic chemicals into a community. A bank fails, causing assets valued in the billons to vanish. A disturbed young person fires, brutally murdering strangers for no reason at all. A nation invades, upending the lives of millions on a cruel leader’s whim. A virus spreads, preying on the most vulnerable and leaving deep scars on us all. A family mourns, tearfully saying goodbye to someone they can’t imagine life without. The world is a mess, and it hurts.
It wasn’t supposed to be like this. When God first created everything, all of that pain was completely absent. It was our rejection of God that cursed the whole world with suffering and death (cf. Gen. 3:1-24). Yet, God is much too good and loving to leave it like that. “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God” (Rom. 8:20-21 ESV). Things are bad – but they will get better. God Himself will make it better.
Because while the whole creation groans, it is not with the pain of a hopelessly chronic condition or terminal illness: it is with the pain of childbirth (cf. Rom. 8:22). That still hurts – a lot – but the pain will end. It will end and prove to have been worth it, producing something so beautiful that words fail. “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Rom. 8:18).
Much like how an expectant mother’s weary spirit soars when hearing a heartbeat, seeing an ultrasound, or feeling a kick, God gives us glimpses amidst our present suffering of the glory to be revealed. Illnesses are healed. Communities rally. Relief pours in. Justice is given. Mourners are comforted. Mercy is shown. The estranged reconcile. Lives are changed.
That is what Jesus does. He saves us, transforming us into who we were always meant to be. His kingdom reign grows one heart at a time, making it a little more on earth as it is in heaven everywhere His love goes. These outwardly obvious displays of the goodness of God in the present reassure us of our coming hope and urge us to keep going. Creation groans. Yet, we spread God’s love one day at a time, and none of it is wasted. Something indescribably beautiful is coming.
Find hope in our 2023 lessons!