Longing for Something, Part 2

“We earnestly desire consummation for the healing of our broken hearts and the drying of our tears. We want to live where ‘goodbye’ isn’t even in our vocabulary. We long for all things to be made new. And this is the consummation that the Bride of Christ will receive! Hallelujah!”

Last week we looked at longing through the Biblical analogy of marriage—a bride longing to be united with her protector, lover, and friend. We pulled a lot of that beautiful imagery from Revelation, but I did promise that we’d look at Romans 8, so here we go!

The Longing of Unbelievers

First, let’s look at this longing in non-Christians. In Romans 8, people who don’t long for Christ are described as desiring the things of the flesh, which means the body and the physical world. “For those who [live] according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh” (Rom. 8:5a). You know what it means to set your mind on something: to make a habit of thinking about it until it becomes an obsession. Why would people set their minds on temporary things like that? Because they think it will fulfill them. They’re longing for satisfaction and completion—for consummation—just as much as anyone else, but they don’t know how to get it. They believe that rebelling against God’s order will help them find what they were made for, but tragically they don’t realize they’re sawing off the branch they’re sitting on. There is no ultimate satisfaction apart from God, its Source. Their longings will never find completion outside of Christ.

Increasing the Intensity

Now, most of us have experienced the kinds of longings that we’ve looked at up to this point—a bride and groom or an obsessive thought. These are strong desires, and they communicate important aspects of this yearning that we feel. But for the rest of the examples in Romans 8, Paul draws our attention to a new analogy, one that is far more intense and dramatic. He wants to make sure we know he isn’t talking about a sweet, storybook wish for a “happily ever after” someday. He’s talking about a desire so strong that it makes you groan with intensity, longing for immediate completion. Brace yourself, because the analogy he uses is that of childbirth.

He begins this poignant section with verse 18: “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” And that, folks, is the story of childbirth in a nutshell. Although I haven’t yet given birth myself, I’ve had the privilege of supporting my sister two different times as she delivered beautiful, healthy babies at home. I’m so thankful for these experiences, because they gave me an unforgettable picture of the strongest human desire and of its joyful consummation.

Now, if you’ve ever watched a mother give birth (especially if she’s fully aware of all the sensations going on in her body), you know that Paul is putting it delicately when he describes it as “groaning.” A laboring mother is completely focused and committed, but she’s completely at the mercy of her body’s timetable. She can’t rush it, but neither can she delay it. When it’s time, that baby will come, but there will be plenty of groaning until then. By the end of labor, there is one thing and one thing only that this mama wants: to get that baby out of her! Now, before I scare you away, let me show you how Paul uses this analogy to make a powerful, beautiful point.

The Groaning of Creation

Verse 22 begins the analogy this way: “For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.” What an odd thing to say! How could creation feel an intense longing like this? The previous verses clue us in to what Paul is talking about. “For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing [or final consummation] of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility…in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God” (Rom. 8:19-21). To put it another way, creation wasn’t made for corruption; it was made for perfection. But when Adam and Eve sinned, the whole created universe suffered the consequence of death.

But this won’t always be the case. Remember Christ’s promise that we looked at last week? After He returns to gather his Bride, Christ will make all things new. This includes creation! Somehow, God has given creation this innate knowledge that things are broken now, but they won’t always be so. When God’s children are completed, creation will be, too. In the meantime, Paul says that creation groans for that day with an intensity that we can’t even perceive.

The Groaning of Believers

Just after he shocks us with the fact that creation is groaning like a mother in labor, Paul then announces that believers are feeling the same way. “Even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body” (Rom. 8:23b). Creation wasn’t made for corruption, and neither were we. Our hearts know this, don’t they? When we face sickness, sin, and death, our hearts recoil at the discord. When we see injustice or suffering, our hearts cry out for deliverance.

And that word is perfectly apropos. We want to be delivered.

I hadn’t really thought of this before, but why is it that we say the mother delivers the child? If you’ve seen a mother suffer and groan through the birthing process, you know that she is the one who wants to be delivered! But she endures with strength and courage because she knows that her pain and groaning will result in unspeakable joy. True, she can’t see her precious baby yet, but she knows that all this pain must be leading somewhere. Verse 25 says it this way: “But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.” Believers know our consummation is coming, but until that day, we groan for it and eagerly persevere.

The Groaning of the Spirit

Now, if you thought it was crazy to consider creation groaning for completion, think about the Holy Spirit Himself groaning for the same thing! Check out verse 26: “In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” The Spirit of God is living inside believers, groaning for our completion! Our hearts are breaking over the fallen nature of the world and of ourselves, and we long for it to be made right. But how often have we come to God in prayer about it only to find we aren’t even sure what, exactly, to pray for?

This is where the Spirit steps in. He intercedes to the Father on our behalf, expressing our deepest longings for us—longings so deep that there aren’t even words for it. And what is it that we long for? Just what we talked about last week: completion and consummation. Verse 29 describes it as becoming “conformed to the image of His Son,” Jesus. This is what we were made for! Until our hearts beat in unison with His, we will keenly feel the arrhythmia. But verse 30 assures us that all who are in Christ will be glorified one day, and creation itself will be made new. The groaning will be over, and the joy will begin. We will finally be delivered from this fallen world, and all creation will rejoice to see the Father welcoming His children into their eternal home, perfected and complete. The miracle of birth is just a small glimpse into the joy that is to come.

But for Now…

Just as a laboring mother is at the mercy of her body’s timetable, we too are not in control of our consummation. Therefore, we will persevere despite our groaning because we have a hope that we cannot yet see. But the day is coming when Christ will return, and we will be delivered.

Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!

…And, as it turns out, I need another week to wrap up Romans 8. I mean, have you guys read the end of the chapter? It would be a travesty if I skipped it! If you’re not too traumatized by all this birth talk, come back next week to see even more good news!

Check out the next post here!