Romans 8:12-25 (NRSV)
Read Romans 8:12-25 on biblegateway.com
Verse 12So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh- Verse 13for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. Verse 14For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. Verse 15For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, "Abba! Father!" Verse 16it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
Verse 17and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ-if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. Verse 18I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. Verse 19For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; Verse 20for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope Verse 21that 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. Verse 22We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; Verse 23and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. Verse 24For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? Verse 25But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
Devotion
Our townhome is on the edge of a wetland with a little creek running through it. This year, a pair of sandhill cranes (as well as their two babies, called “colts”) have nested there. The crane parents look at my wife and me with interest when we’re on our deck, but they don’t fly away. It’s as if they’re on their tippy toes asking us, “Well?!” The crane couple reminded me of Bible scholar N.T. Wright’s translation of Romans 8:19. “Yes: creation itself is on tiptoe with expectation, eagerly awaiting the moment when God’s children will be revealed.” Romans has much to say about our salvation, but this part of Romans suggests that a key purpose of salvation is so that humans can fulfill their vocation to care for God’s creation. Once again, God’s wide embrace goes beyond us humans—it includes the sandhill cranes and their precious “colts,” together with the rest of creation.
Prayer
God of majesty, fill us with your Spirit, that our lives may be refreshed and all of creation may be renewed. Amen.