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. For the
earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons
of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because
of Him who subjected it in hope; because the
creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the
glorious liberty of the children of God.
Romans 8:18 NKJV
Do
you have good memories of Christmas’ past as I do? The feelings of expectation as the days
counted down to Christmas morning when you could finally see just what was
inside all of those wrapped packages with your name on them? Or maybe as I do, you can also remember other
times in your life where you experienced the emotion of expectation while
waiting for something you wanted very much to finally occur. While most of us have, in one way or another,
experienced the joy of expectation, I have to ask another question which is
related to the first. Have you ever
experienced disappointment when the reality failed to live up to your
expectations?
Truth
be told, I think many of us would have to agree that we have been disappointed
far more than not when something fails to live up to our expectations. In fact, in our family as my three daughters
were growing up, their favorite saying was “reality bites”. As much as we might have tried to alleviate it,
they experienced their fair share of disappointment as the realities of life
failed to live up to their expectations.
If you are like me, it’s possible that you have never escaped the habit
of asking “why?” when considering the complexities of life and the
disappointments we often are called to endure.
As
I thought about the subject of expectations this week, the Spirit led me to
this passage from Romans that I have to admit, caused me to pause and consider
carefully exactly what the apostle Paul was trying to tell us. I must admit, the idea that creation itself
has feelings causes me to take a step back and raise my eyebrows, yet that is
exactly what Paul tells us here. Just as
we are living with the expectation of being delivered from the bondage of sin
at the rapture of the Church, so creation itself is waiting for the return of
Christ to this world. The unfortunate
result of the fall of man in the Garden of Eden was that this earth, and all of
nature was punished along with man through no fault of its’ own.
For we
know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until
now. Romans 8:22 NKJV
Now
let me ask you a question here. If, as
Paul tells us, “creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed”,
and “the whole creation groans and
labors with birth pangs”, is it not logical to conclude that what the
world describes as “natural disasters”, such as earthquakes, volcanic
eruptions, drought, floods, fires, etc. is just creations’ way of revealing
its’ own expectation of deliverance just as we do? Now at first that might sound a little
strange, but consider how often we are told much the same thing throughout the
scriptures.
Let the
heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; Let the sea roar, and all its
fullness; Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it. Then all
the trees of the woods will rejoice before the LORD. For He is coming, for He is
coming to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness, And the
peoples with His truth. Psalms
96:11-13 NKJV
The
heavens will rejoice, the earth itself will be glad, the sea will roar, the
fields will be joyful, and even the trees will rejoice when Jesus returns at
the end of the Great Tribulation to judge the world. Jesus Himself said that the stones He created
could cry out with rejoicing and praise in this passage from Luke describing
His entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.
Then,
as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole
multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice
for all the mighty works they had seen, saying:“ ‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name
of the LORD!’ Peace in heaven and
glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd,
“Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” But He answered and said to them, “I tell you
that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.” Luke 19:37-40
NKJV
So
my thoughts were that if creation itself feels much as we do, and is waiting
patiently (or impatiently) for the return of Christ, it seems logical to assume
our expectations are the same. We are
waiting for the promise of His return and the expectation of deliverance from
the effects of sin. As I grow older I
find myself appreciating more and more the promise of a new body that will
never grow old, and a life free from my sin nature and the temptations to do
wrong. I’m sure many of you would agree
with me, and have given thought as I have as to just what we can expect when we
finally meet our Savior in the air.
Although
I highly doubt that any true believer feels that there is a possibility of
being disappointed when we finally get to Heaven, I think it is reasonable to
assume that the reality of what we find when we do go home might be somewhat
different from some of our expectations as to what life might be like. I recall one time listening to a pastor from
California talking about his expectations of surfing on the perfect endless
wave in Heaven and wondering if he missed the description in Revelation which
says there will be no more seas. What
exactly are our expectations and what does the Bible tell us we will find when
we arrive?
The passage from Romans uses the phrase "earnest expectation" to describe what creation is feeling. In the Greek, this phrase means "anxious and persistent". Are you anxiously and persistently looking for the return of Christ? What are your expectations of what we will find when we get to heaven? Next week we will talk about the joy of heavenly expectations.
Keep
watching.
