Can you hear the sound?
The sound of groaning
All Creation is groaning
Why?
Suffering
I consider that our present sufferings... Romans 8:18
Frustration
For the creation was subjected to frustration… Romans 8:20
Pain
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Romans 8:22
Everything on earth has been afflicted with sin
What is sin?
Sin is missing the mark of the best
All Creation Groans,1
Everything on earth has been afflicted with sin.
What is sin?
Sin is missing the mark of the best.
The target is perfection.
In the Garden of Eden was perfection,
“everything was good”.
The only moaning or groaning in the Garden
was that of pleasure.
Like the delicious bite of sweet fruit.
I love the bite of a perfectly ripe sweet strawberry.
My mouth waters and words cannot describe the pleasure.
Like the sound of a moan
as my whole being tries to describe the pleasure.
Sin is missed opportunities,
like buyer’s remorse.
It is like the bellyache from strawberries
that have passed their point of being ripe
and poisons the stomach.
How many times have we moaned
over the “coulda, woulda, shoulda”….
The missed opportunities.
Think of Adam and Eve…
The first night outside the Garden of Eden.
Imagine the mourning over their loss.
I can’t describe the pain I felt when our son
was in the hospital and we got the call, in Florida,
he was in heart failure and not getting better.
The doctors did not know what to do,
and we needed to get back to Ohio immediately.
I remember the pain inside of me…
Pain so great all I could do was moan.
I fell to my knees, and could not talk.
I could only groan and cry out…
“God help me”.
In that time of grief, I had visions of
David weeping over his sick son before he died.
Of Jesus groaning in the Garden of Gethsemane
before the cross.
Visions of people I stood with as they stood
over their loved one as they took their last breath.
It was real.
The reality that the forbidden fruit,
the disobedience that started with Adam and Eve,
the curse that “you shall surly die”
was taking what I so dearly loved.
Like fruit that spoils in the stomach.
I have groaned many times before…
When my wife was diagnosed with a brain tumor
and twice with cancer.
I know what it is to lay in bed
and think of nights sleeping alone.
My story is no different than yours.
You, more than likely, have had
the same moanings and groanings.
If not, you will.
Why?
Because it is appointed unto a man to die
because the effects of sin
are decaying everything on earth.
The effects of sin not only attack our bodies,
but the tangible things we hold dear.
They rust, break and people steal.
I have had many things people have stolen from me…
My garage was broke into and my car a few times.
People I trusted stole large sums of money.
The feeling of distrust, fear, and anger.
A host of unpleasant emotions fill our minds and hearts.
I limit my watching of the news.
Why?
Because it makes me groan.
I groan when I see and hear of…
Crimes, wars, political divide, pandemics
and other things that make people suffer.
If you buy insurance,
you believe in sin.
You believe some wrong could come upon you,
your loved ones or your possessions.
Imagine the money you could save
if there was no sin.
No need for locks, insurance, security devices, etc.
About now you are groaning
and not wanting to read another word.
But the reality is…
The wages of sin is great,
“it is death”.
The effects of sin are so bad
you need to thank God for every day you are alive…
Because it is only by His grace we are alive
and able to accept His forgiveness and love.
Sin separates us from God,
His great love and provision.
My sin, your sin, your neighbors’ sin, our ancestors’ sin,
have filled the earth with suffering, frustration and pain.
Jesus said…
“In this world you will have trouble”
The rain falls on the just and the unjust”
Sin is not a light matter.
It is heavy and has no answer outside of Jesus Christ.
There is a right way to handle sin
and the groaning it causes inside of us.
Turn to the One who took upon Himself
the sins of the world.
Repent, this is more than the sinner’s prayer for forgiveness.
Repentance is a turn in your life,
a change in direction.
Repentance is where old things…
A life of living for what you believe is right.
And turning to Jesus Christ and His teachings…
To do what is right in His eyes.
Jesus said it this way in Mark 1:15…
“The time has come,” he said.
“The kingdom of God has come near.
Repent and believe the good news!”
There is good news…
It is the news of the Kingdom.
Why do I say this?
Because Jesus only had one message…
It was the message of the Kingdom of God.
Jesus suffered for the sins of the world.
Jesus did not take His disciples with him
when He said, “it is finished”.
He commanded the disciples to go into all the earth
and continue His message of Good News…
The Kingdom of God.
History tells us that those disciples suffered
to continue Christ’s work.
We can turn off our media to the outside world.
We can work to create a stress free environment
and play our favorite worship songs.
But the truth is, the groaning inside of us
is to motivate us to live and preach
the only message that can free us
from suffering, frustration, and pain.
Jesus came to the world,
His disciples were left in the world
and you and I also are here in the world for a reason…
To help free the world (creation) from…
Suffering, frustration, and pain.
The Book of Romans is all about the sin problem.
In the middle of Romans is chapter 8…
Reminding us of the suffering, frustration, and pain
caused by disobedience.
We are given two hopes…
The first is Christ is coming again to give
us a new heaven and new earth.
Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit,
groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship,
the redemption of our bodies.
Romans 8:23
The second hope is…
The manifestation of the sons of God, the Church.
You and I are to live and proclaim the Kingdom of God,
righteousness, peace, and joy.
For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, … 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 8:20,21
Can you hear the sound of creation groaning,
Child of God?
Are you and I ready to bring
freedom and glory to creation?
Scripture Reading
Romans 8:18-25 NIV
18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that[h] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
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