"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT BLESSINGS TO COME"
Ro 8:18* For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
18* Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will give us later.
Some explanatory notes, application, and a prayer:
1. Paul is talking about the present and the future all in one verse here. And, he is talking about the experiences we have now, here, and the blessings that we will also experience in the future. Sufferings now, glory to come, glory to be revealed in us.
2. Paul said, "I consider" meaning, in he sense of an accounting, or a reckoning. Or how he regarded the here and now, and how he regarded the future blessings that will be ours one day in Christ. In other words, this is what he understood to be the truth.
3. There is one basic thought here. And, it's this. That what we go through now, by way of sufferings, is nothing compared to the glory that God is going to give us later.
4. God is in control of the sufferings we go through, He allows them, and He is in control of the glory, or the blessings that are coming. And, when we get to heaven, the sufferings we have gone through will not be worthy, or appropriate, or deserving, or fitting to be compared with what God will give us. In other words, we will never even be tempted to say, "it was all worth it"
Because, what God is going to give us is so much greater. Those blessings, ( glory as Paul calls it ) will be so wonderful, that we will not think it right to compare it with what we have gone through down here in this earthly, temporal existence.
5. The glory Paul says, will be revealed in us. What does this mean? For one, it will mean, that we will have a new body, a glorious body, one fashioned after the body that Jesus has. And, two, we will behold the glory of God, which I believe is the visible knowledge of the total goodness of, and all of what God is. We will see Him face to face. And, in some way, that glory will be revealed in us. In our minds, our souls, our understanding, that is currently very limited, but then, it will be face to face.
6. What a glorious future we have. We are headed for heaven. And, You know what? None of us knows just exactly when we will arrive there. Only God knows that. We know many people who are already there. And, one day we will see them again. We will see each and every person who is in heaven. You and I who are reading this devotional, will be together in heaven. We will rejoice together in heaven. Let's rejoice now. That's what Paul did, and that's what he was doing here in Romans 8.
A prayer:
Father, is there anything greater then You, and the gift of eternal life. No. You have given us the very best and most wonderful gift possible, the gift of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ the Savior. Thank You for Your unspeakable gift. May we be so filled with this hope that we cannot contain it.
In Jesus name, amen.
Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia
