The Hope of Glory
Have you ever noticed that every time you have something wrong with you and start to tell it every person who has ever had something similar shows us? Every time we wrestle with the catalogue of pain the Bible shows up and offers us hope, such as, “Our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”
The warning Jesus gave His disciples is applicable to us, “You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.” We are all somewhere on the scale of suffering somewhere between life being free and easy, and suffering that seems unbearable. The latter is described in Scripture as groaning. However, this darkness is not going to end in despair, not even death. If you are a follower of Jesus, this groaning will end in God’s glory and your joy.
Is there a link between these two? Yes! We “…groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we are saved. But hope that is seen is not hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not have, we wait for it patiently.”
That is it, that is the link, hope. It is the link between this life and the next, between suffering and glory. Hope actually is another name for faith. Faith locks onto Jesus, and then it looks forward to glory.
If you have, or will turn to Jesus, there is good news for you. No matter how terrible your sin might have been He has forgiven you and will be waiting for you. You cannot escape suffering, but if you trust Jesus as Savior, just as assuredly you will not miss glory. Hope is the key.
Deposit this in your memory bank. It will likely at some point be more meaningful to you.
Bank on it, it will pay dividends.
(This is based on Romans 8.)