A Different Perspective On Suffering...And Glory

Paul makes an interesting statement in Romans 8:18. Paul states, in essence, that regardless of how great our suffering may be on this planet, it is not even worthy of being compared to the surpassing greatness of the glory we will experience when we pass from this world to the next. Now, some have read these words of Paul and been bothered by the way he seeks to minimize the pain people feel in life. However, Paul may not be minimizing people's pain at all. In fact, he may be helping to see just how great the glory of heaven will be when we finally arrive. Think about it for a minute. Think of all the horrors of war, the terror felt by an abused child, the hopelessness of the homeless and the pain caused by countless millions who have died at the hands of a tyrant. These pains are real, and great. However, Paul's point is not this pain isn't real...or even great. His point is that the glory of the next world is so amazing...so grand...so exalted that it will be worth every moment of suffering we experience along the way. So, what Paul is trying to do is not minimize our pain, but maximize our vision of the glory of the world to come. This is a different perspective on pain and suffering. From this perspective, pain and suffering are designed to cause us to long for the world to come where there will be no more pain and tears. Suffering reminds us that this world is not our home, and builds within us an increasing desire for our heavenly home. I don't know about you, but I could gain a great deal of courage and strength from this kind of perspective.