We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and 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.
--Romans 8:22-23
Environmental consciousness marches on with some leading the charge and others standing on the sideline. Global warming -- or climate change, as it is now called -- is a cause of concern for many and there's quite the push for "going green." On the other hand, some see political mischief lurking about with rampant environmentalism.
To be sure, the creation is groaning, but, according to our text, the cause is not carbon emissions. The pain, which prompts the groaning, is akin to what one might hear in a labor and delivery room. As part of the creation, we are part of that groaning and pain, and this for the simple reason that we are waiting. We wait for our adoption and the redemption of our bodies, says the Apostle Paul.
Think it through for a moment: without adoption, we are orphaned. We may have our biological parents and can trace our blonde hair three generations back. But here the apostle speaks of the earth as God's creation and ourselves as God's children. Without adoption, we are not God's children. Without redemption, the grave is the final and everlasting destination. In another one of Paul's letters, this one to the Ephesians, he declares that we are by nature children of wrath (Ephesians 2:3b). The miracle of the Gospel is that God loves us nevertheless; we have been given the first fruits of the Spirit (as the Day of Pentecost made evident), and the "signing" of our "adoption papers", so to speak, is a sure thing. The same is true with the "buy back" (redemption) of our bodies. All of this brings comfort -- even while the creation's groaning, and our own, goes on.
PD
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