Transcription
[Music] Turn to Romans chapter 8 where we're in a series on the book of Romans. We've been several weeks in Romans 8, and this morning we're going to look at Romans chapter 8 and verses 18 through 25.
The first time I ever preached a message on a Sunday morning was in September of 1984. I had never spoken before on a Sunday morning, and I remember it not because of what I spoke or how it went, but because of what happened on the day before. Debbie and I were living at that time out by Fremont Hills. We were living in a duplex, and we got up that morning, and Debbie said, "I think we better get in the car and go to the hospital because I'm having contractions."
So we get our stuff together, we jump in the car. At this point, Cox South is not yet open, so we're driving all the way over to Cox North. And we go to the labor and delivery. They're jammed. We can hear. I can remember as we're checking in, we can hear women, you know, one lady screaming, and Debbie's eyes were getting big. And so we talked to the nurse examiner, and the nurse says, essentially, you know, "What, your young mother, and you probably should go back home because we don't think you're ready."
They had one room, though, and so we begged them to let us stay in the room. And she said, "We can stay till we need it for somebody who's really closer to delivery." So Debbie gets checked in. I run over to the bank to get some quarters so that I can make phone calls to share the good news because this is the day before cell phones, when they had a thing called pay phones. And for those of you don't know what that is, you can see him at the Smithsonian. And they've actually worked pretty good.
But so I get back to the to the hospital room, and we're just kind of sitting there talking. And and now, you know, I'm thinking because I got to preach the next day and nothing's happening. Her contractions have pretty much stopped. We get down and we kneeled there in the little room, and you know, I remember praying, "God, listen, tomorrow I've got to preach Sunday morning, and I don't have my sermon done yet. And so we need to have this baby by noon, if you wouldn't mind. And so in Jesus name, Amen."
So, you know, I'm sitting there and and about, you know, 10 o'clock, the contractions start up. And by by 10:30, I mean, they are they are getting ready to move her into the delivery room. And they toss me my scrubs. And at 11:34, David Jonathan David Linda was born on September 29th. So shout out to you, Dave. But anyway, you know, so we get that. And during that, you know, there's just a lot of you doing the labor thing. It was our first time. And you know, we got to the birthing classes, and I'm I'm there to be the coach. So she starts getting in this intense labor, and I'm like, "Debbie, you gotta breathe. This will help you." And and so I'm like, right over her face, "Breathe in and out." And she kind of looks up and says, "Would you please be quiet?" So my coaching days for labor and delivery ended without a lot of fanfare.
The reason why I tell that story is because when you come to Romans chapter 8 and verses 18 through 25, the whole theme is suffering and glory. When a woman gives birth to a child, there is suffering, and there's glory. In fact, as Paul is talking about suffering and glory, he is using the metaphor of childbirth, being in birth pains, the groaning that is a part of that, and the joy that comes is the glory that follows.
So let's jump right in. We're going to look at it in Romans chapter 8 and verse 16 to kind of pick it up where we were last time. "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God." So remember, we've been saying that in Romans chapter 8, essentially what it is, after this great verse, "Therefore now no condemnation," from verse two on, Romans chapter 8 is essentially a celebration of the Spirit's working in the life of the believer. He lives in us, he dwells in us, and what he does is he bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. And if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we might also be glorified with him.
"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed in us." I want at the outset, really frame our look at this passage with four observations on suffering and glory. The first one is this: that suffering and glory are part of the Christian life. Christ suffered, and then he was glorified. Notice it says in verse 17, "provided we suffer with him in order that we might also be glorified with him." This is something we don't talk a lot about in Christianity, this idea of suffering. And honestly, what it does is it disadvantages believers when they hit difficulties, dark times, difficult times, when they hit times where they are suffering, either because of loss, loss of health, could be loss of a person, somebody's passed away, and now they're left alone, or any other suffering. Could be persecution because of their faith. There's some of you today, and it costs you, you suffer because people near you, people around you, whether in your home or at work, are now believers, and that makes it difficult for you. And your suffering. And there can be in any one of our hearts when we go through those times of suffering, especially if it's very difficult, we can find ourselves saying, "Well, God, why are you doing this? Why are you allowing this? Because God, remember I love you. Remember that I've tried to be faithful to you. Why am I suffering?"
The fact of the matter is that suffering and glory are part of the Christian life. Jesus said, "In this life you will have trouble, you will have hardship." In John chapter 15, on the night he was betrayed, he said, "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you." In other words, if there are people who are making fun of you, persecuting you, shunning you, avoiding you because of your Christian faith, whether it's where you work, where you go to school, where you live, Jesus says they did that to him. We have to expect they'll do it to us. Remember the word that I said, "A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you." Paul says this in 1 Timothy chapter 3, "In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted."
But in the midst of that persecution, there is this suffering and then glory. You get a sense of that in 1 Peter chapter 4: "But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed." Suffering and glory. "If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed because the Spirit of glory of God rests on you." Suffering and glory. Paul puts it this way in 2 Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 17: "For our light and momentary troubles..." That's suffering. What is he talking about? Well, he was correct. He spent a day in the night in the deep. He was five times received the forty lashes minus one. He was flogged five times. He's beaten with rods three times. I was heavy, a bundle of sticks that were used to beat the soles of a person's feet till they were broken, the bones were broken. I mean, this man knew horrific suffering and danger from robbers and bandits, in danger from his own countrymen. You can read all about it in 2 Corinthians 11. How does Paul view that? "Light and momentary." Again, suffering is achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
Suffering and glory are a part of the Christian life. A second observation is this: suffering and glory each represent two different ages. Suffering is present in this life. Glory will encompass everything about the next. Look at it in Romans chapter 8 and verse 18: "For I consider..." What Paul is saying there, the word there, *logizomai*, we get our word logic. "I've reasoned out, I've reckoned." Some translations say, "I've reasoned through, I've come to understand the way God has set up the universe, that that there is a logic, that there is a reason to the way God works, that the sufferings of the present time..." That's this life, "...are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed in us." That's the next life. So suffering and glory represent two different ages.
Here's the third observation: suffering and glory cannot be compared. You can't compare them. The best you can do is contrast them. Look at this in verse 18: "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing." You can't make a comparison. I know we sing at times, and in days gone by, "It will be worth it all," comparing the suffering to the glory. But honestly, while that's true, there's no comparison. You can't compare the suffering with the glory that is to be revealed. In fact, one of the reasons why you can't compare them, if you go back to 2 Corinthians chapter 4, "our light and momentary troubles." Are you kidding me? Five times you received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one, three times you're beaten with rods, you're stoned, you're left for dead, you're shipwrecked three different times, you spend a day and a night in the deep, you're in danger from robbers and bandits and countrymen, you're naked, you're exhausted, you're cold, you've got persecution. And you're calling that light and momentary? What Paul is telling us is that if you tried, there's no point in comparing the suffering of this life with the glory of the next life, because honestly, if you put them side by side, the suffering of this life is like a millisecond compared to the billions or the quintillions of years of eternity, the infinite number, and the glory and the grandeur and the things. With one second in heaven, you'll say, "Oh, that was nothing. That was nothing." You can't compare it. The best you can do is contrast it. God's glory is so much greater.
And then number four: suffering and glory affect both God's creation and His children. We're talking about creation, we're talking about the cosmos, we're talking about the natural world, we're talking about the mountains and the oceans, we're talking about the deserts and the meadows, we're talking about the rivers, the streams, we're talking about farmland and trees and your lawn. I mean, we're talking about the created world. What I want to do, if you're taking notes, to help us understand this passage, because I think you find it very, very interesting. I want us to look at two things: the suffering and glory of God's creation, number one. And then we're going to follow that up with a look at the suffering and glory of God's children.
So, first of all, the suffering and glory of God's creation. Romans chapter 8, verse 19: "For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God." What Paul does here is he personifies creation. And and he's not the first. He's not the first one to do that. Remember Isaiah says, "The trees of the field will clap their hands for joy." It talks about, you know, the ocean roaring in the Psalms. That talks about mountains quaking in response to to what God is doing. And in response to spiritual realities. Remember, as Jesus rides into Jerusalem, he he says, when the people are crying out, "Hosanna to the Son of David," and the Pharisees are saying, "Tell the people to quit saying that," and Jesus says, "If I tell them to stop, the rocks will cry out." Here you have that similar personification of creation because the fact of the matter is, creation, while it in one way is an intimate, in the other way, it is very much in tune with the God who created it. It is aware of its own creation. It's aware of its connection to the God of the universe, the one who spoke it into existence. And what it's saying is, it's saying, "The creation waits with eager longing." I mean, that literally, it's weights from the top of the head. The idea is it's craning its neck, it's stretching, it's on its tiptoes, it's it's looking ahead into the future. You say, "What is it watching for? Why is it doing that?" It's watching for, look at it, "for the revealing of the sons of God." That's what it's looking for. It's watching for that moment when you and I are revealed for who we really are. It's watching for that moment when you and I come into possession of glory. Why? Why does creation care about that? Why does creation care about your glorification? Why does creation care about the completion of your salvation? And it does. The reason why is creation was subjected to futility. That Greek word means creation was subjected to aimlessness, to emptiness. It was subjected to an inability to fulfill its purpose. In other words, what Paul is saying is creation right now is in a state, as it may be majestic, as it may appear awesome in so many ways, it still is not doing what it originally was designed to do. It's not. Remember, originally creation was good. Each day God created different aspects of creation, and he sat back and he looked at it, and he said, he said, "That's good." Fact, on on Tuesday in the creation order, he said, "That's good, good." He said, "It's doubly good." And then when you get down to the end of the Genesis account in chapter 1, in verse 31, what did he what did he do? He looked at all of it, and he said, "It's not only good, it's very good." And if the God of the universe calls something very good, then it's what? Very good, right? Originally, that's how it was. What Paul's telling us, it's no longer what it was, or what it should be, or what it could have been. Look at it in verse 20: "The creation was subjected to futility." What that tells us, "subjected," past tense. There was a point in time where creation was forced into a condition it did not choose, but it was forced. You say, "When did that happen?" Look at it, "for the creation was subjected to futility," in other words, a can't fulfill its purpose, "not willingly, but because of him who subjected it." Who would be the only one who could subject creation? Who would be the only one who could say to creation, "You do this, this is how it's going to be"? That would be the one who created it, God Himself. In other words, what he's telling us is there was a moment when God Himself made a decree that affected creation's ability. He subjected in that moment creation to the futility, the aimlessness, the emptiness, the the inability to fulfill its purpose. When did he do that? Remember Genesis chapter 3, when he pronounced the curse. Look at it, and he said to Adam, remember God gave Adam and Eve a command. They were in the garden, they violated that. And what did we learn in in Romans chapter 5? That that act of disobedience through one man, sin entered the world, and death through sin. You were never created to die, and nothing in creation was ever intended to die. But when sin entered the world through Adam's disobedience, death entered through sin, and death came to all men, for all have sinned. Here's what happens. He said to Adam, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, you shall not eat of it, cursed is the ground because of you. In pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the plants of the field." God cursed creation. You say, "You say, why? Why would he do that?" Here's here's part of the reason. Sin comes in, and sin corrupts. Sin is pervasive. Sin is always a bigger deal than any of us will ever want to realize or maybe understand. Adam sins, and it corrupts creation. You say, "Sometimes people have the idea, well, if I sin, it doesn't matter. Not so fine. If I want to sin, so what? It doesn't hurt you. It doesn't affect..." No, not true. Sin, in its corruption, in its destruction, in its it's corrosive, this pervades everything. So when God curses creation, mankind is left to face the deadly, destructive, corrupting, corrosive power of sin. It's as if the entire creation is in chains. I mean, and we get that. We see that. I mean, you mow your grass, and it looks awesome. You got your straight lines in, and about four days later, it looks like nobody's touched it for months. Willful, unbending, doing its own thing. You've pruned, you trim, and aphids come in and ruin, and disease comes in and rots and and destroys. Frost comes and kills the blossoms. Creation trying to do what it's designed to do, but unable at times, or often, to do it. This is what Paul is talking about. Verse 21: "Notice this, that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage." It's in bondage. It's like it's trying to break free. Free. Every single year it goes through the cycles. You've got spring, and everything is fresh and green, and it's like there's hope springing up again, as if creation thinks, "This time it will be different." And then their summer, and then there's fall, and then there's winter, which is certainly a part of the curse. And creation, every winter groans. Look at it, verse 22: "For we know that the whole creation has been groaning." Creation groans, it creaks, it it groans, it's in anguish together in the pains of childbirth until now. What do we know about childbirth? The pains men don't know anything, but women can can say they know something. I don't pretend to know. I have had a kidney stone, but so I can't say I feel your pain a little bit. What do we know about what do we know about childbirth? That the pains start out less and become greater. Less frequent, they become more frequent. They become their less intense, they become more intense. That's that's what's happening to creation. It is groaning. This is a very, very strong word that Paul uses. In Greek literature, it's used of the cry of somebody who is facing death. It's almost like a death cry. And in Romans 8:23, it's associated with a woman who is giving birth to a child, and literally she's screaming, she's crying out. And let me just remind you that in ancient times, it wasn't just an expression of pain, but the woman in ancient times was in mortal danger because many women died in childbirth. The word also is used of, in secular Greek literature, of the groans of warriors left on the battlefield after the sound of battle has diminished, and now there's the cry and the shrieking of those who were injured on the battlefield, mortally wounded, yet alive, suffering in pain. That's the picture. Paul says creation is literally in the throes of death, if you will, crying out. The entire mass. What this is saying is that the world is suffering. It is steadily, irreversibly, unavoidably falling apart, wearing down, giving out. And that deterioration cannot be turned around. You cannot reverse it. Reducing your carbon footprint will not reverse it. Let me say this, as believers, do we have a responsibility to be stewards of creation? Yes. But we cannot save creation. We have to understand that. And you see what creation is hoping for? Look at this: "Creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God." The creation understands that our condition affects its condition. The creation understands that our glory affects its glory. Our future affects its future. Verse 21: "It puts it this way, that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God." Creation is freed when we are freed. Let me make an observation here that I think is really, really critical because here's what happens in society. We are too easily, too readily conditioned by the thinking of society. And what I mean by that is this: that to hear everybody tell it, our fate is linked to the condition of the universe. That's not true. I mean, embarrass our culture, in in our society, is that Satan and sinful thinking in births reality, so that what's light is dark, what dark, like what's good is bad, what's bad is good. And in the case of the environment, well, you know what, if we don't save planet Earth, world and deep weeds. When in fact, it our fate is not linked to the condition of the universe. That the fate of the universe is linked to the condition of man. Our freedom will result in creation's freedom. You say, "Well, what's going to happen to the universe?" Here's what happens: When you and I, in that moment that Jesus Christ returns, we will be transformed, as we're going to see in a moment, and mortality will take on immortality. We will instantly have a glorified body. In that moment, what happens to creation? Creation is absolutely completely renovated. You can read about that in Isaiah chapter 11. You, I mean, it's all over the scripture. When Jesus will return, the earth to a state such as it was when it was created, when death is diminished, now totally eradicated, but greatly diminished, when creation goes back to doing to fulfilling its purpose. The earth will be different. And then there will come a moment when the Lord will bring about a new heaven, a new earth, a new creation, totally untouched by sin or by the effect of sinful man.
So we've seen the suffering and the glory of create of God's creation. I want you to note a second: the suffering and glory of God's children. This is very interesting. Verse 23: "And not only the creation, but we ourselves." So creation is groaning, but so are we. Creation is suffering, so are we. "Who have the firstfruits of the Spirit." Remember, the Spirit of God lives in us. So what is what does that mean? Here's what Paul's talking about. Remember he said, he said this, he said, "We've been adopted. We have an inheritance. It's just we haven't received it yet, and we're in this life, and there's suffering." And people can say, "Well, why is that? And what's happening?" Here's what Paul is saying. He's saying, "Creation's groaning, we are groaning. We've we've got the firstfruits of the Spirit." You say, "What does that mean?" Well, the Holy Spirit lives in us. And first fruits, back in the Old Testament, when it was an agricultural society, so a farmer, before he would harvest his barley, he would take the first part of the of the harvest of the barley, and he would take it up to the temple, and he'd wave it before the Lord, and he would give it to the priest, giving it to the Lord, thanking God for His goodness in the harvest. It was the first fruits offering, done with the heart of gratitude, done recognizing that if I give God the first part, it affects everything else. The Holy Spirit then is like a first fruit. He's like a sample. He's like a foretaste of what it's going to be like in eternity, in the kingdom. You fill him inside you, you feel close to God. It's just a tiny foretaste of what it's going to be a million times more in the kingdom. You feel the presence of God when you're with people, you're in your life group, or you come into this place, and your sense of God isn't working. God is moving, and you feel close to God. Oh, that's just a foretaste. That's a first fruit.
"But we ourselves who have the first fruit of the Spirit groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for the adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies." It hasn't happened yet, and we're in that place, and we're waiting, and we groan. Paul says the same thing in 2 Corinthians 5: "While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan in sy." But it's not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies. Clovis, rather, we want to put on our new bodies. In other words, Paul says, "It's not that we're on a death wish. It's just that we can't wait till we get that new body, till we're set free from sin." And in the meantime, we groan. Back to Romans, "And not only the creation, but we ourselves who have been the who have the first fruits of the Spirit groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons." It's been promised. It's just not being completed. When will it be completed? The redemption of our bodies. When our bodies are transformed. We don't have our inheritance yet, and we look forward to that time. But until then, there's suffering, and we groan.
Some of you are groaning today inside. You're dying inside. There's a death cry because you've lost a loved one, and life is really, really hard right now. Or the doctors told you you have cancer, and you're wondering what you're going to do. Or maybe it's not you, maybe it's somebody you love, and you're trying to figure out what that means for them, and what that means for you. And in the midst of all this, you're saying, "Why is life like this?" Or maybe maybe there's a deterioration that you see happening in in your family, and it's it's the effect of sin, and you groan. Back. Let me just say this: the older you get, the more you groan. I mean, you just do. Take it from me. You groan more because you can do less. You groan because you have more to groan about. I mean, you just can't do what you want. I mean, I let me just say this, so we're all on the same page. 20-year-olds, 25-year-olds, 30-year-olds, you know nothing about this. I mean, I'm kidding you, of course. Everybody groans. But the older you get, the more you groan. Time and circumstance. I'm not just talking about your body. I'm talking about life. Time and circumstance eventually will separate you from everyone you love. I watch my mom. Her parents are gone. She's one of five siblings. Only one other one is left. Time and circumstance. And there's groaning. My dad. My dad left groaning. I mean, there's groaning. It's hard. And you know, sometimes we think, "Well, if I just play the game smarter, or I just take enough vitamins, I can outrun it. I can outsmart it." Not so. If I just jog a little harder, just keep up. All those things have their place, but you can't outrun it. You can't outsmart it. It comes by way of illness, by way of death. It just happens. There is a groaning that takes place.
But for the Christian, as our groaning increases, so does our hope. I mean, the more we groan, it has that tendency to cause us to look less at this life and more at the next. To realize that this life has its limitations, but there is the promise of another. And God too, has designed it this way. And it's as if God has has made us, and actually is birthing within us, this desire for heaven, this desire for home, this desire to be with him in a glorified body, with his glory. And and we get bigger with that hope until finally we give birth to that hope. We're looking forward to the completion, to our inheritance. All those things. Look at it, Romans 8:23. It says this: "And not only the creation, but we ourselves who have the firstfruits of the Spirit groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies." That our body would be redeemed. You say, "What does what's that gonna be like?" Well, it's all over scripture. But let me just give you at least one scripture. First Corinthians 15: "Let me reveal to you a wonderful secret: We will not all die, but we will all be transformed. It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. When the trumpet sounds, those who died will be raised to live forever." Remember Paul said this in in 1 Thessalonians 4: "The Lord Himself will descend with a cry of command, with the voice of Archangel, and the shout of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. And we who are alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air." But this is why Paul says it in 1 Corinthians 15: "And we who are living will also be transformed. Our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die. Our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies." I mean, you're gonna be transformed. You're gonna get a brand new body in that moment, instantly, in the twinkling of an eye. You're gonna have a body that forever will be able to enjoy and experience eternity and eternal glory. Jesus said this in John chapter 14: "In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, I would have told you. I'm going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me, that you also may be where I am."
Now back to Romans. Look at what Paul says: "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." And that's a bit of an unfortunate translation. It might be better to say, "the glory which is in store for us," because it's not just you and I watching something, it's you and I experiencing something. We're not just spectators, we are participators. We will see His glory. We will be transformed by His glory. We will share in His glory and will experience His glory. Imagine that. It's gonna be amazing. You're gonna be glorified in that sense.
Let me just say this, because there's a lot of people who mistakenly think of Christianity exclusively through the lens of salvation experience, where God saved you from hell, which if that's all it was, would be certainly worthwhile. But the better part of salvation has less to do with what God saved us from, than it does what God saved us for, and what God saved us to. That He saved us from eternal judgment, but He saved us for a purpose. He, we were created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which He ordained in advance. For God has a purpose. Free life. God has gifts that He's given you. God has things He wants to do in you. And God has God has a plan for you. "Those whom He justified, those He also glorified." We're going to see in Romans chapter 8, and God has a plan for you and glory that goes beyond sitting on a harp and are sitting on a cloud and strumming a harp, though if that's your thing, great. But He's got He's got a lot for you to do. And a part of that is this glory that is not only around us, but is in us, and equips us, and that we radiate, and that we experience through all eternity in His presence, as we live out His will. And in light of that, we have hope. That's what we're looking for.
Look at it, verse 24: "For in this hope we were saved." Now, hope that is seen is not hope. For example, if I can see something, I'm not hoping for it. It's right there. I got it. Who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. What is hope? It's anticipating God's goodness in my life. When when a person is a Christian, the longer you go, the more you realize God's got a lot of good things, and you begin to hope for those things. You begin to get anxious for those things. Listen, can I just say this? That as you mature in Christ, one of the things you're going to want to do is you're gonna want to think a lot about what's ahead, because what's ahead, when it becomes real to you, will help you endure the storms in what's now. Fact, John Bunyan, the author of the book Pilgrim's Progress, a great classic, he pictures an individual by the name of Christian on his way to the Celestial City, on the way to heaven. And and there's a friend who's walking with him on the road, and he says, "When do you find yourself in your most vigorous spiritual state?" And Christian answers this: "When I think about the place to which I'm going." You see, there's something about thinking about heaven and realizing what's ahead that helps us endure the suffering and the storms of this life. That's why Paul says, "These light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." Heaven's bigger. Your your the windshield of your spiritual life is bigger than the rearview mirror. You're thinking about where you're going. You think about what God has. In the in the words of Hebrews chapter 6 and verse 19: "We have this hope as an anchor for our soul, firm and secure." That it literally anchors us, it stabilizes us in the storms of life. To recognize that this trouble will not last, that this suffering is not forever, that in the in the comparison to what God has, the suffering is going to be small to the exponential greatness of His glory and His goodness, and what He's prepared for those who love Him. And you can be sure of this, that one second into heaven, you're gonna look at the one who loved you and you redeemed you, and you will say, "It was worth it all." And that's what Paul says. It's as if we're pregnant with this hope. It's as if we're carrying this hope, and and we're suffering right now, and we're screaming out. But when that delivery comes, and we're in glory, just like a woman who has a baby, we'll say, "It was worth it." To that end, for the Christian, it is very, very true that the best is yet to come. Suffering and glory, they're both part of the Christian life. But as great as the suffering seems today, it's not worth it's not big enough in any way. No matter not minimizing your suffering, on maximizing His glory. His glory is greater than we can imagine, and the best really is yet to come.