Romans 8:17 reminds us that we are co-heirs with Christ, “provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him.
No one enjoys the thought of suffering, but Christian suffering is a fundamentally different kind.
Let me make an analogy between the physical and the spiritual.
Would you not agree that there is a fundamental difference between pain in the cancer ward and agony in the delivery room? One is suffering that brings life; the other is that of death.
As a pastor, I have watched many people struggle with cancer. It is such an awful disease. I think of one friend who went through so much – – lost her hair during chemotherapy — – had her body ravaged by the disease – and then she slowly died. Her hospital room was a place of pain.
The delivery room is also full of pain. If I ever complain about discomfort, my wife who has delivered four babies is happy to remind me that I am not acquainted with real pain. Never the less, the agony of labor is of a different kind than cancer suffering. Labor is pain based on a beautiful hope.
Everyone in this life will suffer. And, if Christ does not come back in our life time, we will all die. But, for a believer, the sufferings of life are those of the delivery room. Romans 8 says that our sufferings are “birth pains” that will one day give way to the sons of God being revealed.
If you are believer with cancer, then you have all the hope of eternity. Remember, our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
Soon and very soon, Jesus will come back and we will be eternally with Him.
I have never heard the analogy of the cancer ward and delivery room before. Thanks, this is giving me food for thought for a series I’m planning on preaching in Romans 8.