Groanings

Last Sunday as I sat and listened to the message that was preached on 2 Corinthians 5: 1-5, the one part that caught my attention and stuck with me the rest of the day was the word "groanings".   In the passage Paul says that in this life we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling.  Our pastor pointed out that in the New Testament, the idea is that the whole world is groaning in 'birth pains', waiting for the new heavens and the new earth.  Waiting for Jesus to make all wrongs right, and to wipe away our tears and usher us into glory.  Sounds wonderful, unless you are sitting there 5 days before you enter into real groanings of birth pains.  At that point, for me it was just a reminder of what lay directly ahead.  (I have to admit that with every delivery I dread the birth pains more and more as I remember how real they are.)  But thankfully, I didn't stop listening there.  He continued to explain the analogy and asked, "What mother, after having endured the difficulty of labor says, 'That's it? That's all I get for all that work?"  That's right, no one.  She sees the baby, and knows that it was worth every pain and difficulty she endured.  Labor may have seemed long and difficult at the moment, but the joy in the end far outweighs the groanings of her temporary pain.

Fast forward to Thursday evening.  Labor began, and so did 5 hours of pain and literal groanings.  But, just like all the other mothers of all time, in the end it was worth every bit of pain.

So now, in a sweet way, I am enjoying the fruit of my labor as I sit here and type with my new little William in my lap.  But in another way, I see our move ahead in the same way that I was anticipating the delivery.  I am not going to pretend that it will not be hard.  It will probably be harder than any labor I have ever experienced.  But thankfully, I am encouraged!  Yes, there will be 'birth pains', and in this world we will have difficulty and sorrow, and yes there will be moments where I will wonder why I ever got myself into this mess, but with each situation I have the promise of a heavenly dwelling
where the joy will far outweigh the difficulty.  I can look to the day where we will worship, without limitations, the one who endured even the cross for the joy that was set before him.  I will groan for sure, but in Jesus, it's all worth it!