All creation is groaning. People are noticing that. More and more emphasis is placed on the weather, especially on all the extreme phenomena that seem to be happening all the time.
“It’s so hot! It’s so cold!” Doesn’t it always seem to be one or the other? Massive floods followed by devastating droughts. Destructive hurricanes in one region and raging wildfires in another. Why?
The Bible explains, “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time” (Romans 8:22). Our human sin doesn’t just affect us and our lives. Our sin affects all of God’s creation. From the moment that Adam and Eve sinned, death and destruction didn’t just come to human beings. Death and destruction came to the whole world. Like a woman in labor, agonizing over the pains she feels in her body, the whole earth is groaning in pain because of the affects of sin. Earthquakes, volcanos, tornadoes, blizzards, ice storms, thunderstorms… Creation groans.
But that means there’s hope. A woman in labor has hope: A baby is coming! There’s hope for God’s creation too. One day, God will make a new heavens and a new earth. The groaning will stop. The pain will be over. The extremes will end. God’s creation will once again be a perfect place for God’s people.
Until that day comes, don’t be surprised when creation groans. It’s one more reminder of our need for Jesus and his salvation.
Upside-Down Savior 