Romans 8:18-21
18 I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; 20 for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

Reflection:
“Glory!” my grandmother would shout. “Glory be!” my aunties would say. What a funny thing to say instead of just “dang it” or “oh my gosh.” As a kid, I never understood the grown folks phrases and their meanings. But one day when I was little, we were playing at grandma’s house. What was really fun about grandma’s house was not only did we get to ride in the back of grandpa’s truck or chase the chickens, but the windows seem to always be open. My Aunt Honey, grandma’s sister, lived right down the road and her windows were always open too. One day, me and all the cousins were playing in grandma’s yard. Boy, did we hear some roaring laughter and yelling coming from Aunt Honey’s house. We ran to find out what was going on. You see, a stray dog had gotten in the house and they were trying to shoo it out. But I kept hearing my Aunt Honey say, “Glory be!” Later on, I decided to ask her why she says that. I will never forget this. She said “Baby, no matter what goes wrong, I remind myself and anyone with ears that I got God’s glory on my mind.”

You see, we’ve been given creation and we’ve kind of messed things up. We’ve been given the Ten Commandments, and sometimes mess those up. We were given Jesus to explain and show us the greatest commandments of all: to love God with all our heart, soul and mind; and to love our neighbor as ourselves. We kind of struggle with those sometimes. Sin has been, and is, the cause of all the suffering that exists in God’s creation. Creation was subjected to futility and the bondage of sin by God through free will so that we can be saved through His Son, Jesus Christ.

The sufferings we are going through will be worth it when all of creation is set free and we are living in that GLORY. Creation is waiting on us to have hope in glory. To live in God’s glory, so that anyone with eyes and ears know, we’re children of God. Glory be!

Closing Prayer:
Creator of all things. Creator of stray dogs. Creator of silly humans. I come to You today needing a reminder that You have given me the instructions I need to live in this world. I often think that I can’t fully love ALL of creation until it’s as I want it to be. But, that’s backwards. Creation is waiting for me to keep glory on my mind and You in my heart so we can all be free. Father, I will try harder to love You with all that I am, all that I do, all that I think and all that I say. It’s in Your glorious Name I pray, Amen.