The Certainty of Present Suffering & Future Glory

In my young 28 years, I have not experienced much suffering at all. I have a mother and father who are married and love each other to this day. They both love God and the things of God. I have wonderful grandparents and other family members who are all alive, well, and healthy (all of whom mean the world to me). I have literally received monies and gifts to pay for my schooling. I have a roof over my head, a car to drive, food in the refrigerator, and friends who would be by my side in a moment’s notice of trouble. God is good and may the glorious name of Jesus be exalted!

And yet . . . have you ever had a small taste of lemon on the tip of your tongue? Instantly you can feel the bitterness and the twinge of its tartness? That is what I have experienced this past month. I have had a slight taste of suffering. This world has many things it can offer a human being in regards to category of suffering: pain (whether it be physical or mental), sickness and disease, disappointment, unemployment, poverty, and loneliness. I guess that the death of a loved one, however, is at the foremost of suffering that one can experience in this life.

My childhood friend, a friend I had known all my life, passed away on August 11, 2007. I cry daily, remembering various events throughout our childhood and school days. I long for the months to rewind, just for a moment, so that I could talk to her again and tell her how much she meant to me growing up and how much I admired her. I ache for her mother, father, siblings, and children who are going through the pangs of mourning, pangs and hurt that I simply cannot fathom. The pain from my loss reminds me of the certainty of God, and the comfort of His word.

In Romans 8:18, Paul states, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed in us.” It is clear from this verse that we may be assured of two things when we are a follower of Christ. First there is the guarantee of present suffering. Paul was writing the Roman church, which was under persecution at this time. They, of all people, knew the frailty of life and the suffering that accompanies it. So to encourage the church there, Paul wrote a comparison. Basically he says, listen believer! Ponder the sufferings of this life. Think on each one you have encountered. Note them well and each difficulty you have ever experienced. Do you have them listed? Are they easily visited upon by your memory? Now understand this, all your sufferings combined in this life cannot compare to the future glory of the next!

This guarantee means that when Christ returns, we will be caught up with him, and our bodies will be redeemed, glorified. The glory will not be revealed to us, but in us the verse states. I do not claim to understand this. But oh how it makes me long for that day! The redemption of soul and body in the presence of the One Who gave His life so that I might be free from sin.

In his commentary on Romans, Hendriksen explains it much better than I ever could. He states, “the pan in which the glory has been deposited outweighs the other one by so much that the heavier pan drops to the bottom immediately. Our present sufferings, be they ever so many and severe, fade into insignificance when compared with our future glory.”