daily java

Daily Java: I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. (Romans 6:18)

When I was in basic training in the army, it was hard. I was tired and sore and pushed almost beyond my ability to do stuff. It didn’t seem worth it at the time.

But when I was through, I was lean and strong and capable of things that I was never capable of before or since. I was fit and in shape big time. I could run long distances, I could do innumerable situps and pushups. My body had, it seemed, no limits.

The suffering I went through in basic training was worth it to make me a fit soldier. When I came home afterwards, I looked good. Tall and straight. One of my friends said I looked like a recruiting poster, I looked so good. My girlfriend was impressed.

I got into power lifting at one time a few years ago. For a while I was sore, but after a period of time, I was strong. The old saying is “no pain, no gain.” It is true. You cannot get anywhere worth going to without some kind of long trip.

You cannot make  your body better by coddling it. You have to push it.

Our present sufferings, as the apostle Paul calls it, don’t really have any comparison with what God has in store for us. Sure it is hard here and people do stuff to make it even harder. It seems sometimes like it is a nightmare.

But God says, look at what awaits you. There is glory in eternity for this short time of pushing and suffering.

Life can be terrible at times. But heaven is great. And besides, the knowledge that you are doing something worthwhile with your life makes it good anyway.

You are not just marking time until you get old enough to die. You are gaining a crown. You are not just wandering through a life desert wishing things could be better. You are a child of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

There is a perspective that Christians have before they go to be with God. The fact is, we are already with God. He lives in us now. The glory begins now in one sense. The glory that is him and his grace is inside us taking us right now through all the bad stuff.

It is not just future, it is present. We have a purpose and meaning to our lives that people outside of God cannot imagine. Our perspective, our motivation, our raison d’etre, all these things, are his glory.

They are now, but they are also then. And then they will be great.

Eternity with God for just a few short years here.

No comparison.