Scripture:
Romans 8:18–25 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. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to full sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we are saved. But hope that is seen is no longer hope; for who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
2 Peter 3:11–14 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.
Romans 8:18–25; 2 Peter 3:11–14
Devotional Thought:
Creation itself is groaning. Not silently — loudly, like labor pains, Paul says. The whole created order is straining toward the moment of its liberation. And we are groaning too — we who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, who have tasted enough of the kingdom to know how much more is coming.
This groaning is not despair. It is the groaning of someone who knows what is coming and cannot wait for it to arrive. It is the ache of unfulfilled longing, held in the hands of certain hope. We groan because we are not home yet. And we wait — but we wait patiently, because we know what the waiting is for.
Peter takes the same vision and asks the most practical possible question: Since all this is coming, what kind of people ought you to be? The answer is not: sit back and wait. It is: live holy and godly lives. Make every effort to be found spotless, blameless, at peace with him. The certainty of the kingdom’s restoration is not a reason for passivity — it is the most powerful motivation for faithful living imaginable.
You are living between the groaning and the glory. That is the exact position you occupy today. And the question Peter presses on you is the right one: given where this story is going, how are you living right now?
Reflection Questions:
1. Where do you feel the groaning most acutely — the ache for things to be made right that isn’t yet satisfied?
2. How does the certainty of what is coming shape the urgency and character of how you are living today?
Application:
Answer Peter’s question honestly in writing: Since the kingdom is coming in its fullness, what kind of person ought I to be? Be specific — not a general spiritual wish list, but concrete commitments for this season. Share them with someone who will help you live them out.