Creation's Groaning
Silence and stillness before God (2 minutes)
Scripture reading
Scripture reading:
Romans 8:19-22
For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.
Devotional
Paul widens the lens beyond human experience to all creation. The natural world shares in the frustration of sin’s curse. It groans under the weight of decay, longing for renewal. Yet this groaning is not the despair of death but the labour pains of new birth. Creation is waiting for liberation.
This perspective is both sobering and hopeful. Sobering, because sin has cosmic consequences, our rebellion affected the whole world. Hopeful, because creation’s destiny is not destruction but restoration. One day, it will be set free into the same glory that God’s children will share.
When we see natural disasters, environmental decay, or the fragility of life, we are reminded of this groaning. Yet even creation’s pain points forward to a promised future. Just as birth pangs lead to new life, so creation’s groaning will end in renewal. The earth itself waits for the day when Christ makes all things new.
Question to consider
How does creation’s groaning give you both a deeper awareness of the world’s brokenness and a greater hope for its renewal?
Prayer
Creator God, I see the groaning of creation all around me. Thank you that one day it will be set free into glory. Give me hope as I wait with all creation for your renewal.
Conclude with silence (2 minutes)
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