Series: Saints
Message: Suffering
Preacher: Japhet De Oliveira
Reflection: Mark Witas
Live Wonder: Zan Long
Live Adventure: Zan Long
Live Purpose: Jason Calvert
Editor: Becky De Oliveira
Refresh: Begin with prayer. Ask for the Holy Spirit to open your heart to new understanding and for God’s character to be revealed.
Read: Romans 8:18-30 in The Message (MSG). Note 1–3 insights or questions.
Reflect: Paul writes, “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time” (Romans 8:22).
When I was a little kid, there was a commercial on TV that showed a stereotypically-dressed Native American man paddling a canoe. He canoed down a beautiful stream toward a lake gradually filled with more and more pollution. Smoke stacks appeared in the background; there was garbage in the water and on the shore. After he pulled his canoe up onto the beach, he found himself standing on the side of a road with cars driving by and belching exhaust into the air. As he stood there, someone threw a bag of garbage from their car and it landed at his feet. He slowly turned his head toward the camera to reveal a tear running down his cheek. A voiceover invited the viewer to call a number to order a pamphlet about how to pollute less.
That commercial always got to me because I think I knew deep in my core how wrong it is to destroy something that God has created and given to humanity as a gift.
Now that I’m older, I’m even more aware. I know that there is a giant pile of garbage floating in the northern Pacific Ocean that is four times the size of Texas. I’ve driven through Texas. I’ve never wanted to drive through it four times.
I’m aware that human beings seem to be willing to trade the acquisition of power, money, and convenience for the health, beauty, and general well-being of the earth that God created for us. I also know the Bible doesn’t say very nice things about people who ruin the earth. (See Revelation 11:18.)
There’s a song by the Eagles called “The Last Resort” that sadly details the destruction of the earth created by man’s "progress." It talks about how Christians keep referring to the Paradise “up there” and laments that every time we find paradise, we move in, build all over it, put up neon signs, and ruin it. The lyrics include the words, “And you can see them there on Sunday morning stand up and sing about what it’s like up there. They called it paradise, I don’t know why. You call someplace paradise, kiss it goodbye.”
The song is a profound challenge to those who would call themselves followers of Christ. And it’s a challenge to me, as a Christ follower, to be a better steward of the earth that God has given me to occupy.
Recalibrate: In what ways can you be more conscientious about being a better steward of God’s creation?
Respond: Take a walk in nature and appreciate God’s creation. Listen to the sounds of nature and thank God for the gift.
Research: Read this article about how human beings are being careless with God’s gift of the world.
Remember: “Consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18, NIV).
Mark Witas is the lead pastor at Pacific Union College Church in Angwin, CA. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Mark has served as a youth pastor, Bible teacher, college and academy chaplain, and lead pastor in the United States and Canada for the last 33 years. He has also authored four books: Born Chosen, Live Out Loud, Portals, and Just Jesus.
Play a game of soft landings. Using a beanbag or a large pillow, roll over or tumble into the beanbag. If your little one is strong enough, let them flop back into the beanbag on their backs. You can be your child’s soft landing by catching them as they jump off something. Jesus is our soft landing. He stands at the right hand of God, ready to speak on our behalf.
Play your favorite game. Do you like to play this game because you are good at it? Do you like to play this game because you play it with your friends? Have you ever played a game where you just kept on losing? Why did you keep on playing? When Jesus died on the cross and His family buried Him, evil thought it had won. Jesus loves us so much that He chose to keep on playing for Team Live Love to show that love beats death. Jesus kept on playing because He loves who He is playing for. Jesus played for you.
What do people call you? Do they call you by your name or by a nickname? Do you like what people call you? Do your friends and classmates call you something different than your parents and family? What is your favorite name for you? In other words, when being addressed, what’s the name you love the most? Who calls you that? Why do you think that name from that person is so special?
I love being called “Daddy!” It is, by far, the GOAT (greatest of all time) of names. Whenever I come home from work or a trip or church or the garage, I’m often met with a chorus of “Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!” This name speaks of affection, intimacy, love, care, protection, and attention between a parent and child.
When you think about your relationship with God, what do you think about? How do you honestly feel God feels about you right now? Paul, in this week’s passage, touches on this issue when he writes, “We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as His adopted children” (Romans 8:23).
Not only has God forgiven us, justified us, and given us free access into His presence, but He also has adopted us into His family. We are God’s kids! The word Paul uses in Greek implies full legal rights and relationship. Paul also says:
But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. (Galatians 4:4–7)
I can stand in awe of a God who has the power and desire to forgive me and put His righteousness into my account. But by adopting us, God is going further. He is saying, “Don’t just stand there in awe of me. Come close to me.” Adoption speaks of a close relationship. God says, “I want you as my son. I want you as my daughter.”
It’s amazing to think of approaching the Almighty God and saying, “Daddy. Daddy.” But you see, God is saying, “I want you to come close.” And from now on, you have a new relationship. You are part of the family of God forever, because of your faith in Jesus Christ. Next time you talk to God, call Him by His rightful name—Daddy.