The Groanings and Weakness of the Present Age

The readings over the last few weeks have been from Romans 8, which is one of the most beautiful and glorious chapters in the entire Bible.  It is worth meditating on repeatedly, and I encourage you to make it a part of your devotions for the next few days (we will hear the final verses this Sunday).  In it, the security and assurance given to us are on full display.  Paul argues that, because of the ministry of the Holy Spirit, the death and resurrection of Jesus, and the love of God, we are adopted as sons and daughters of God who will be glorified with Christ one day.  This reality offers hope in spite of the present experience of struggle and weakness.
 
I love Romans 8 because Paul reveals our security and the glory to come and yet doesn’t pretend that everything is perfect in the present.  It isn’t “wishful thinking” Christianity.  Hope is real, even though we haven’t experienced everything of God’s goodness yet.  We have been given the first-fruits, and thus experience God’s goodness in the present, but most of what we long for is still to come.
 
We groan (along with creation itself!) for the future perfection, and we should strive for it by making the world beautiful, healing the sick, tutoring children, freeing people from addictions, and bringing peace, justice and mercy to our societies.  But as Christians faithful to Romans 8, we also must acknowledge our own imperfections, sufferings, and weaknesses, rather than pretending that we have everything together.
 
As a church, we can do this by learning to be honest about the things that we are struggling with and suffering under.  We can do this by learning to confess our sins to each other.  We can do this by asking for help and praying for each other.  If we pretend that all is well when it isn’t, we lose the chance to experience the first-fruits of healing that God wants to bring to us in the present through the ministry of the church.  I long for Incarnation to be honest, strong, and kind enough for people to bear each other’s burdens.  I long for it to be a church that strives to bring God’s healing to the world even as we acknowledge our own sins and weaknesses.  We have hope set before us—one day, Jesus will return and reveal that we have been made his brothers and sisters, filled with his own glory.  This means that we can confess where we have failed to measure up, because there is nothing to fear.  We are secure in Christ!  As Paul says, “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,” and nothing in all of creation “will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

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