Consider

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” Romans 8:18

Consider – This is not a matter of opinion!  Paul is not filling out a heavenly survey on attitudes toward suffering.  The Greek word, logizomai, really means, “to have completely certain knowledge.”  Paul is saying, “There is not one shed of doubt about this!”

Too often we get into the “comparison” game.  Is this better than that?  Which one is worse?  How do you score your attitude or reaction?  We are particularly susceptible to this kind of comparison when it comes to suffering.  Last year when my wife and I experienced so much loss, many friends said to us, “Well, at least it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.”  They were right.  Things can always be worse.  But knowing that the possibilities could have been worse was not much comfort in the middle of real suffering.

Paul points us in another direction.  He has only one comparison in mind – the glory that is coming.  Compared to the promise to come, he is absolutely certain that no present suffering has any real merit.  Paul does not believe in the graded scale of suffering.  He is an “all or nothing” man.  Suffering is very real.  That’s a fact.  But compared to the glory of what will be revealed, it doesn’t rate a single point.

Wow!  This is so hard to put into practice.  Even Paul struggled with it.  But the truth still remains.  God is greater than all the trials, all the heartaches, all the pain and torment.  God is going to wipe away every tear, every disappointment, every care.  In the end, His way will prevail.  It is His care that will overcome.

Christians are not stoics.  We are not unfeeling robots gritting our teeth in the face of tragedy, holding our breath until heaven arrives.  We hurt.  We suffer.  We know pain, just like our Lord.  But we have a glory laid before us, just as Jesus did.  We have a hope that is not based on this world.  And it is incomparable.  Of that, you can be certain!

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