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Today's Little Lift

    by Jim Bullington

Sufferings of this Present Time (Rom 8:18)
Date Posted: August 6, 2020

He was not a stranger to pain whether emotional, physical, or otherwise. Yet, he would write, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” (Romans 8.18). The word consider in today’s focus text is otherwise translated reckon in many places. It indicates a reasoned comparison and analysis; it is not a capricious estimate, but a real and detailed comparison of two quantities or qualities. With this in view, the writer was literally saying, “After much and careful consideration, I find that the glory yet to be revealed so eclipses the sufferings to which we are currently subjected that they simply cannot be compared; they can’t be measured on the same scale!”

Reluctantly this same man gave a brief summary of his sufferings as they related to the “present time.” Here is what he wrote: “I speak as a fool—I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness — besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches.” (2 Corinthians 11.23-28).

Again, concerning the present time and the sufferings which were coming upon believers of the first century, this author wrote, “Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” (2 Corinthians 4.16-5.1).

By comparing these passages, we begin to understand what Paul, the persecutor turned persecuted, meant when he said that the present sufferings were not worthy of comparison to the glory which was to be revealed in a future time! The suffering depicted in Romans 8.18 is the “light affliction” of 2 Corinthians 4.17. Speaking for myself (and I think for most believers I have ever known), I would not consider the sufferings of Paul a “light affliction.” When I read the list of abuses and atrocities visited upon Paul as a result of holding firmly to the faith of Christ, two things happen within in me; First, I shutter to think that anyone would have to suffer such things, but secondly, I am ashamed of the complaining of which I stand guilty regarding my own walk as a believer. If I were to compare the things that I have suffered with the things that Paul has suffered, they do not belong on the same scale! They simply cannot be compared!

As a technician in a chemical analysis laboratory year ago, I routinely weighed reagents to one one-thousandths of a gram. These were tiny amounts. I also weighed myself occasionally and tipped the scales at almost 200 pounds. I knew better than to try to weigh reagents on the same scales upon which I weighed myself; there was no comparison. Such it is with present sufferings and future glory!

Questions:

1. What does the word consider mean? Is it capricious or reasoned? How else is it translated?

2. Review the list of hardships to which Paul had been subjected in 2 Corinthians 11? Have you ever known anyone who has suffered in like manner?

3. If Paul’s sufferings were not worthy of comparison to the coming glory, do you think anyone else would ever be able to legitimately make such a comparison? Why or why not?

4. How does Paul’s observation relate to the statement that Jesus made when He asked, “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16.26).

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Biography Information:
Jim Bullington - A Christian writer whose insight into the scriptures is reflected in practical application lessons in every article. The reader will find that the Bible speaks directly to him/her through these articles. God is always exalted and His word is treated with the utmost respect in this column.
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