18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.
What begins as a personal conviction becomes a joint hope for all of us as the children of God. We groan together. We all realize that the sufferings of this present life are just like birth pangs - only temporary. On the other side is new life, new bodies, new dwelling places, new understanding of what eternity will be. We are here together to go through these struggles. When we live that way, the rough spots are much more bearable.
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