Futility

Romans 8: 18 -25 18 I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; 20 for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; 23 and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

The NRSV titles these verses as “future glory.” St. Paul writes we will face suffering in this time. Living in these days we have all experienced suffering, pain and heart ache.

We can easily understand the words that St. Paul begins to explain to us. St. Paul says our creation has been subject to “futility.” In looking up this word, I found the thesaurus says of “futility:” pointlessness, ineffectiveness, vainness and senselessness.

Sometimes in our lives we can feel the depth of “futility.” We hear the news use the word senselessness in describing street shootings. St. Paul wants us to know that the creation that we live in can be “futility.”

In verse 21, he writes that we are “bondage to decay” in this creation. We can remember this spring the small blades of corn coming up out the ground and growing green and tall.

Now, that same corn stalk has turned brown and is dry up. In our personal lives, we can be surround with the “bondage of decay” in the pain that we experience with lost of love ones and close friends.

In the following verse, St. Paul writes, “the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now.”

Written about 2,000 years ago this describes our world today. You turn on the news or look at media and you can feel the “groaning and labor pains” in our world.

St. Paul brings us back to one important word: HOPE.

St. Paul writes “who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”

Worldly hope is just wishful thinking. However, St. Paul writes that Biblical hope is a certainty, not “probability.”

The words of St. Paul assure us that we have redemption in Jesus. We may suffer pain in this creation, but St. Paul encourages to “hope we were saved by Jesus.”

Albert Einstein wrote “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.”

This is the message of St. Paul provides us “HOPE.” I can assure you that hope in God is the great message in this time that we live. I invite you to look for hope in your faith journey.