March 8th, 2012
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

It’s Quite A View!

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Opening Prayer

Lord Jesus, I am prone to waver, to fall, and to need help. Therefore, my confidence is in You, the constant One.

Read Romans 8:18-30

[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. [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 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. [24] For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? [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 with groans that words cannot express. [27] And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will. [28] And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. [29] For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. [30] And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.

Meditate

“How great is our God ﾅ how great is our God! All shall see how great, how great, is our God!” (Chris Tomlin).

Think Further

Having clambered up Everest, we now reach its highest peak, one with a breathtaking view. As N. T. Wright says, “From the top of this hill you can see forever!” Paul now expands and applies his reflections to the whole cosmos. It is not just the human race that has been in bondage to the effects of sin and longs for deliverance, but the whole of the created order. The Old Testament image of birth pangs (Isa. 66; Mic. 4) describes God’s people awaiting the coming of the Messiah, but Paul now sees all creation (in J. B. Phillips’ memorable translation of v. 19) “straining on tiptoes” to see the new family of God finally restored.

The reason for this sense of anticipation is that we, God’s people, are the sign of the glory to come. In my garden, some flower beds are more exposed, others more sheltered; some receive the full sun, others for only part of the day. So some plants come into flower early, but they then show the glory that is to come later. This is the image of “firstfruits” that Paul employs (23). We are like the corner of the farmer’s field that has ripened first and is a sign of what is to come. As we allow the Spirit of God to shape us into holiness, we represent the best future for humanity, not removed from the world, but restored in a renewed creation.

As before, however, Paul is clear that this is a work in progress; although we have had a taste of God’s glory, we, too, “groan inwardly” (23) as we await the fulfillment of the promise. God works all this “for the good” (28), not in terms of our individual circumstances, but in terms of his plan for all creation.

Apply

What would your corner of the creation look like in God’s plan of renewal? How is your life modeling the best that is yet to come?

Closing prayer

Blessed Lord Jesus, I look to You today. You are the beginning and the end, the way, the truth, the life. Lead me, I pray.

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