Pastor’s Corner: “Tiptoe Faith”
Romans 8:18-21 (J.B. Phillips New Testament) – Present distress is temporary and negligible – 18-21 In my opinion whatever we may have to go through now is less than nothing compared with the magnificent future God has planned for us. The whole creation is on tiptoe (eager expectation) to see the wonderful sight of the sons of God coming into their own. The world of creation cannot as yet see reality, not because it chooses to be blind, but because in God’s purpose it has been so limited—yet it has been given hope. And the hope is that in the end the whole of created life will be rescued from the tyranny of change and decay, and have its share in that magnificent liberty which can only belong to the children of God!
The phrase “eager expectation” comes from three Greek words which translate to: to stretch your head to see something. I like how the J.B. Phillips Bible version translates this verse: “The whole creation is on tiptoe to see the wonderful sight of the sons of God coming into their own.” The creation is standing on tiptoes, stretching its neck forward, straining to see, waiting in eager expectation, joyful anticipation and patient hope!
Why does all creation wait like this? Paul tells us that the whole creation waits for God’s glory to be revealed in us. Romans 8:18 (NKJV) – 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Because the creation cannot be restored until God’s glory is revealed in us as sons and daughters of God. Why does creation wait eagerly for our redemption? Because creation also needs to be redeemed. As God said to Adam in Genesis 3:17: “Cursed is the ground because of you.” The restoration of all creation is tied to what God does in us through the resurrection power of His Son Jesus Christ.
The present creation is in a state of death and decay because of sin. But it will not always be this way. One day the creation will be freed from its bondage to decay and brought into the same freedom we will share as children of God. We read about this new creation in the Old Testament book of Isaiah. “Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind … the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more.” (Isaiah 65:17-19).
2 Corinthians 4:17 -18(NLT) – 17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. What’s Paul saying? Weigh up all your suffering, and then weigh up God’s glory to be revealed – they are not even worth comparing. The eternal glory to come far outweighs them all.
We live in challenging times, struggling every day with discouragement and disillusionment. But God’s Word encourages us to hope again and be glad because of what He is about to do. Sometimes it is hard take. It is simply too much. We can’t bear another heart-breaking story, to see or hear the pain, death and sorrow that seems to surround us. We long for comfort and relief. I don’t know about you, but I want to live in a world without pain, without sorrow, without injustice. I want a world without tears and death.
We can wait in eager expectation, joyful anticipation and patient hope because: Nothing is forever lost, nothing is in vain – God, through Christ, is the Redeemer of all our losses and suffering – All things will be made new – God promises to restore everything – All evil will be completely overthrown – All things will be made right – Our bodies will be redeemed – There will be no more death – Life in the very presence of God awaits those who love Him.
Because of all this, we can cultivate joyful anticipation looking with hope at the times ahead. In many places in the Bible, God assures us that future joy is not comparable with the present pain. But in the meantime, we need to hold the tension and stand in the gap (on our tiptoes in eager anticipation) between what is now and what is to come. This is what the life of faith is meant to be!
In His Grace,
Pastor Hamilton