Intro

The news headlines reveal our global groaning. Our human existence on earth is laced with suffering. Our environment weathers heat waves, forest fires, droughts, flooding, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, and volcanic eruptions. Our fragile bodies suffer from physical disease, mental illness, and slow decay. Sometimes we work long and hard for little fruit. We often believe, think, feel, and behave wrongly. We suffer from moral failure, strained relationships, and shaming. Our human society is riddled with corruption, injustice, inequality, and false narratives. There are wars, epidemics and financial crises. At times, it seems too much to bear.

Will we ever get beyond this struggle under the very real difficulties of life? At times, this groaning is just an inner moaning as we hear one piece of bad news after another!  At other times, our groaning bursts into outbreaks of rage – violent demonstrations in revolt against the perceived injustices of our time. We moan and sigh because we believe life could be different. What we experience is so much less than what we hope for. We ask, is this all there is to life?

Questions for Reflection:

• How does your hope in Jesus impact how you face the very real struggles of your life and the lives of those around you?
• How does your hope in Jesus change the way look at the future of the created order?