In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he writes: “Brothers and sisters: I
consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with
the glory to be revealed for us.” Paul
notes that although all of creation is still groaning in labor pains, we have
the first fruits of the Holy Spirit with us already. While we know this as a truth of our faith,
that the sufferings of this world are nothing compared to the glory of God,
that they are nothing compared to the new life we will have with him after our
earthly existence, it is still so very difficult for all of us to bear some of
the burdens we have to go through here on earth. Paul says that it is hope that will sustain
us, that will get us through these sufferings and all that we have to bear here
on earth. We can lift our sufferings up
to the Lord, we can unite our sufferings with the sufferings that Christ
endured on his way to the cross. We can
feel encouragement and strength from the prayers and support we receive from
the other members of our community of faith. We all know that so many of the members of our
faith community are going through a lot of sickness and illness, a lot of aches
and pains in their lives. We stand in
solidarity with them, and we unite all of our prayers together, lifting them up
to the Lord. Yes, we place our hope in
our Lord.
No comments:
Post a Comment