Dear Church,

Romans 8:17 says, ¹⁷ And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. (NLT)

This says, if we follow Christ, we’ve got a lot to look forward to in heaven. Most of us are not wired to look that way, are we? When we talk about long-term planning our mind by default goes to 40-50 years into the future, retirement, 401 K, etc. But for a believer when we talk about long-term planning the bible encourages us to think of our life in eternity.  We’re to think trillions of years of eternity. The good part of thinking that way is when you consider what God has in store for you in eternity – you can handle the momentary problems that come your way.  Some of us may be struggling financially, some of us may be suffering because we use our talents, time, treasure, and influence for God’s purposes, and we are not getting ‘worldly’ rewards to match our efforts. Let me assure you this morning, you and I have got too much to look forward to in eternity to get bogged down by short-term thinking and the worries that come attached to it.

This verse reminds us that, ‘together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory’ meaning we will also possess with Christ what God has kept for him.  Can you imagine what that would look like?  Remember, our current pain and problems may hurt for a season – but the ‘bigger barns’ built in eternity will last for all of eternity, and ALL ‘the barns’ built in this world will collapse one day.

Be encouraged,
Mathews