The Sunday reading on May 27th from Saint Paul’s letter to the Romans is full of hope, but sneaks a subtle condition toward the end that we need to keep in mind.
Brothers and sisters:
For those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear,
but you received a Spirit of adoption,
through whom we cry, "Abba, Father!"
The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit
that we are children of God,
and if children, then heirs,
heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ,
if only we suffer with him
so that we may also be glorified with him.
#hope #suffering
Did you catch it? The good news is we are adopted sons and daughters of a loving father. The condition is that we also have to suffer with him. Think about how much of our world if oriented toward the avoidance or numbing of suffering. What if what we are medicating out way out of is the very thing that will sanctify us, humble us, and make us more loving in a sacrificial way?
Let’s pray – Father of Grace and mercy…your love is unyielding, and you call us your own through the redeeming power of your son, Jesus Christ. Help us to pick up our crosses daily, knowing that suffering is a very necessary part of our redemption, so that we may be also glorified with you one day in Heaven. Amen.