Romans 8:18-25 Our groans will fade to glory through hope in Christ!

Your friends will not stop talking about the new waterpark. It was said that the new waterpark is much more than a splash pad or community pool or waterslide. Rumors from the other kids hyped up what waited inside the waterpark. It became legendary in the minds of all who heard about it overwhelming the chores, homework and screens that characterized a typical day. It did not matter how long the wait was to go to the new waterpark, the hope and eager expectation of the fun, adventure and break from the heat and daily grind remained.

As kids the hope and eager expectation of a new waterpark seems to outlast any setback until you are told that you are not allowed to go. Hearing about the wonders of a new waterpark from your friends only to be told that you will not be allowed to go because of your naughty behavior is not a message kids want to hear. Delivering the bad news to a naughty child might bring repentance, forgiveness and a change in behavior, or it will bring a flood of wailing, excuses and stubborn foot stomping. The prophet Jeremiah was met with a nation level resistance to repentance when he called the people of Judah out for their sins and warned them that they would suffer God’s wrath for their wickedness. Without repentance, the people of Judah would be booted from the earthly promised land to suffer exile in Babylon, and worse they would be kept from the eternal promised land in heaven without hope in the one true God. Despite the backlash, Jeremiah was faithful to deliver God’s message of judgement and call to repentance, but the burden was not easy to carry as revealed in our Old Testament reading from Jeremiah 15, 18 Why is my pain unending and my wound grievous and incurable? You are to me like a deceptive brook, like a spring that fails. Jeremiah prayed that he had been faithful in following God even when the message he brought caused him suffering, but his suffering made him feel deceived by God that there was no hope for relief or deliverance for him. Then, we hear the LORD’s response, 19 Therefore this is what the LORD says: “If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me; if you utter worthy, not worthless, words, you will be my spokesman. Let this people turn to you, but you must not turn to them. 20 I will make you a wall to this people, a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you to rescue and save you,” declares the LORD. 21 “I will save you from the hands of the wicked and deliver you from the grasp of the cruel.” The LORD called Jeremiah to repent for calling him deceptive and failing to act. Then, the LORD warned Jeremiah not to become like the wicked unrepentant people and promised to make Jeremiah like a bronze wall to be able to withstand the peer pressure. Finally, God promised him restoration, rescue, salvation and deliverance.

Like Jeremiah, suffering overwhelms us. In our New Testament reading from Romans 8, suffering, groaning, decay, pain and waiting describe our lives as Christians. These verses even loop in creation as suffering until Jesus returns as we read, 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 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. Jeremiah groaned throughout his life under the weight of his calling to share God’s judgment with the people of Judah and living through the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, the culmination of so many ignored calls to repentance by prophets who came before him. Plus, the book of Lamantations is ascribed to him. His suffering came from sharing the Word of God, and certainly we suffer for doing the same. There are examples from all our lives where the unbelieving world clinging to sin and defiant against God also rejects us who repent and strive to fight against giving into temptation and sin. These words from Romans 8 include these, but paint with a broad stroke to include all forms of suffering. Before we will walk the golden streets of heaven, the streets we walk on earth trip us up with potholes, puddles and puncture wounds from broken friendships, divorce, cancer, debt, natural disaster, hearing loss, blindness, disease, job loss, war, death, etc. From inward groaning to audible groans, all the situations that drive us to doctors, specialists, counselors, therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, influencers, journalists, family, friends, substances and foods of all kinds these are covered by the suffering described here in Romans 8. These all overwhelm us like Jeremiah and cause us to groan as if in the pains of childbirth. These sufferings stack up on one side of an imaginary scale in our hearts and on the other side is hope we have in what waits for us in heaven. As we groan more in this world, the scale becomes unbalanced and the weight of suffering feels more powerful than relief from God. Groaning hacks away at hope in the future glory.

Suffering was more than a rumor or legend for Jesus. There were rumblings of frustration with Jesus and fears among those who hoped in him as Jesus’ ministry went on. The signs, miracles, healings and authoritative teaching about repentance, sin and forgiveness brought more than a toddler’s temper tantrum. Even more than Jeremiah, Jesus faced the wrath of people from a variety of nationalities, socioeconomic backgrounds and religions. Jesus knew the tension was boiling up, so we hear him share what was to come with his disciples in our Gospel reading from Matthew 16, 21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. The coming storm was no surprise to Jesus, but the forecast frightened his followers as we hear the response from one of his closest disciples, 22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” 23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” Jesus’ answer to Peter was direct as it was a matter of eternal importance. Like Jeremiah, Peter was overwhelmed by worldly circumstances. Jesus’ response turned Peter from worldly thoughts of his teacher and friend being put to death, to the will of God. Jesus would not suffer without purpose as a casualty of chaos and confusion. Jesus’ trial was not a series of unfortunate events or a victorious conspiracy. The brutal suffering of Christ and excruciating agony of the cross was the will of God our Father in heaven. With our specific sufferings and sins in mind, Jesus suffered. It was suffering for us, not for himself. Jesus fought and conquered the temptation to avoid rejection by his family, friends, religious and secular leaders, crowded from Passover mob in Jerusalem and his Father in heaven, and suffering on the cross and death; he chose to carry the weight of our suffering. And when this truth hits our hearts and the Holy Spirit fills us with hope in our Savior, the imaginary scale in our hearts shifts and our groanings go flying upward as the side of the scale full of hope in Christ hits the table with the weight of his suffering for us and the power of his resurrection, the power of life, our justification, the redemption price in his blood accepted by God, the forgiveness earned, heaven opened as our home and glory guaranteed for us the children of God. Our Savior’s suffering saved us from our suffering. His groaning saved us from our groaning and guarantees us glory with him.

Our reaction to suffering as Christians comes from hope. Our New Testament reading from Romans 8 opened with this verse, 18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. Our consideration, reasoning and thoughts on suffering are characterized by hope in Christ as Christians. It is hope that understands we will suffer in this world, but those sufferings will end and what comes after will last forever and be a greater healing and joyful existence than we can imagine. Our hope in Christ guides our thoughts and overrules our physical feelings. As Christians, we properly place on one side of the scale the frustrated creation, destruction, devastation, depravity of people who turn on their closest family and friends and disregard strangers as if they were not equally valuable souls dearly loved and redeemed our Savior Jesus and death we all face, and on the other side what has been done already for us by Christ. We have been adopted into the family of God and our bodies redeemed through Jesus’ death and resurrection. Since these have been done for us, we will be brought to heaven where we will fully experience our salvation. We have a glimpse of the peace and joy of heaven now with the Holy Spirit living in our hearts who gives us hope, hope described like this in Romans 8, 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. We do not yet have all God wants to give us; we must wait for heaven. The waiting described here is active like a weightlifter who patiently pushes back against the weight of a bar until all the repetitions are complete. Our relief from the weight of suffering will come one day just like the pain of childbirth ends for a mother and she begins to enjoy life face to face with her precious baby. The remedy for suffering and groaning is reading, hearing, meditating on and praying the Word of God. Like our body needs air, water and food, our suffering souls need to be sustained by Scripture and the Holy Spirit.

My friends will not stop talking about the new waterpark. The hype was so great that it did not matter how long the wait was to go, the hope and eager expectation of the fun, adventure and break from the heat and daily grind remained. As Christians, the glory of heaven will give us relief from suffering in this broken world, but groaning through each day is hard. Jesus suffered an excruciating death on the cross to save us. His resurrection guarantees glory waits for us and the Holy Spirit keeps us eagerly waiting for the day our groans will fade to glory through hope in Christ. Amen.

        

Gunnar Ledermann, Pastor Divine Peace Church