Glorification

“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” Romans 8:16-17

I am tired! I’ve been fighting off a sinus cold for the last few days, and it is wearing me out. I’m not sleeping well, my head is congested, and I’ve had a couple of long days–early starts and meetings into the evening. When I feel like this, I find myself looking at my watch and thinking about the end of the day, when I can fall into bed and relax. It’s over. (Until the alarm goes off again!)

Fatigue isn’t just physical, though. There is also mental, emotional and spiritual fatigue. At times in our lives we ask ourselves, “How much more can I take? How much longer can I do this?” Well, the good news is that for the Christ follower, there is an end to all of our weakness, all of our fatigue, all of our suffering. Paul describes it in the verses above. The Holy Spirit who dwells in us reminds us, assures us, in our times of fatigue and suffering, that we are God’s children. It follows logically then, that if we are God’s children, we are also His heirs. What is our inheritance? The eternal destiny of all Christ followers is glorification. Literally, we are going to be “lifted up.” Jesus Christ will one day return and lift His children up out of the mire and suffering of this world and take us to heaven to dwell in His presence forever.

Take heart, believer. The suffering you experience now will one day come to an end.

-Pastor Mike