Romans 8:22 For we know
that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of
childbirth until now.
Childbirth for women
is often taken on with dread or, at the least, trepidation. Childbirth for men
requires empathy, compassion, and nerves of steel.
Childbirth may come
with struggle, joys, and/or sorrows. One need not experience childbirth to
understand all of this.
Creation itself
groans, presently, in childbirth. It waits, we wait for the pain to end and the
joy to dawn. Natural disasters, family drama, crisis and struggle come on the
creation and on us like contractions, like waves of pain and suffering.
Creation groans, the earth quakes, erosion continues, and species become
extinct. We groan, through the Spirit, when life is difficult and we have no
energy of our own left.
The
pains of childbirth, while unpleasant are like so many things that we go
through in life that are painful. They make the gift of a child so much
sweeter, so much brighter, because the pain has passed and new life has
arrived. Through childbirth, or the struggle of adoption papers, or the
difficult struggle with infertility, God teaches us the strength He pours into
us, through Christ, that we never knew we had.
During
Lent we are reminded of the great suffering of Christ. Christ had reason to
groan in Pilate’s courtyard, along the road to Calvary, on the cross of His
crucifixion. His groans relieve ours. Creation groans, we groan, but our burden
is lifted onto the cross with Christ. We are reminded by the cross that this
world is temporary, our suffering, our burdens, our struggle, is temporary and
like a baby rushing out of the womb, someday this world will end and a new one,
a better one, a perfect one will emerge. Our groaning, the creation’s groans,
are turned to shouts of joy and praise.
Praise
and thank our Creator, who hears our groaning and fills us with His Grace,
Peace, and Truth.
