Clerical World Romans 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.… Men exaggerate the importance of what is close at hand, and diminish the value of what lies in the far future. Prudence teaches men to free themselves from this tendency. And religion summons men to take into their calculation the distant but not uncertain prospect. I. THE SUFFERINGS OF THE PRESENT MAY BE SEVERE. Every human being has many pains, troubles, anxieties, to bear. And every Christian has his own especial sufferings. Nothing is gained by concealing these facts. Let every reasonable being "count the cost" of following Christ. II. THE GLORY OF THE FUTURE IS REVEALED. We need no revelation to make us sensible of the pressure of present pains. But experience and reason fail to make us know the glory which is to be. This is declared to us by inspiration, viz., that when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, we shall appear with Him in glory. That glory consists in the knowledge, favour, and fellowship of the Redeemer. III. THE ESTIMATE AND CALCULATION IS THAT THE GLORY OF THE FUTURE OUTWEIGHS THE SUFFERINGS OF THE PRESENT. 1. This was the personal conviction of the apostle himself. He was a reasonable man, and he reckoned, etc. He acted upon his persuasion, and throughout his life accepted hardships, braved dangers, endured persecution, animated by the blessed hope of victory and of glory. 2. This has been the principle which has underlain the endurances which have always characterised the Christian life. Who would willingly endure the self-denial and the oppression, the insult, the privation and the martyrdom, except for the sake of the approval of the Divine Master, whose victory and whose throne it is promised that all His faithful followers shall share? (Clerical World.) Parallel Verses KJV: For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. |
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