PODCAST
Suffering and Hope
November 8th, 2019
Romans 8:18-27
Suffering and waiting are miserable companions. Without some hope of improvement it all seems so futile: a waste of life. When humans remove God from the equation it does seem futile. Like Macbeth’s grim assessment on hearing of the death of his wife: “Out, out, brief candle!/Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player/That struts and frets his hour upon the stage/And then is heard no more: it is a tale/Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,/Signifying nothing” (William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 5).
We, however, can join by faith with all creation waiting with “eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed” (v. 19). He is our constant intercessor, expressing the depth of our suffering with wordless groans in accordance with the will of God (v. 27).
We have hope! Life does have meaning because of Jesus Christ. In Him it is not “a tale told by an idiot,” but a tale of glorious liberty!
Author: Duane Brush
