“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 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.“
Romans 8:18–21

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J.I. Packer once wrote, “All roads in the Bible lead to Romans, and all views afforded by the Bible are seen most clearly from Romans, and when the message of Romans gets into a person’s heart there is no telling what may happen.”1 One certainly gets a sense of what Packer expresses here when Paul’s letter to the Romans is approached in reverence; read and studied with a heart fully submitted to the truths of God found therein.

However, there’s one particular chapter that many find carries the strongest glory and the most precious comfort: Romans 8. Union with Christ and glory are two major themes that unfold throughout 8:18-39, and my prayer is that this week we will know and experience the joy of being united to Christ and the glory that awaits us.

As a matter of fact, glory is the opening theme of our passage, and it’s contrasted with “our present sufferings.” The existence of suffering can be a stumbling block for some of us, and yet suffering is at the very core of the gospel message; Christ suffering and dying on a cross. However, the gospel does not end with His death, but continues with His resurrection! Glory is what awaited Jesus and glory is what was given to Him. In the same way, those who are united to Him will one day look and see that their suffering, no matter how vicious, is not even “worth comparing” to the glory that will be made known to them. In the same way, creation looks forward to this glory, the “revealing of the sons of God” (ESV, emphasis mine), you and me.

Let us, then—together with the whole body of believers, empowered by the Holy Spirit—keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, for an eternal glory awaits.

1 Packer, J. I.. Knowing God (Knowing God Set) (p. 253). InterVarsity Press. Kindle Edition.

Questions for reflection and discussion:

  • What have you appreciated about Romans 8 in the past?
  • What relationship do you see between the Christian life and suffering?
  • What about suffering and glory?

Church Reading Plan: Ecclesiastes 2; 1 Timothy 4