Groans From Within, Part 1

Many of the people who frequent my blog have probably wondered what the title actually means. Groans From Within describes what it means to be a person who is led by the Spirit while living in a world that is broken. The Spirit groans within Christ-followers, causing us to empathize with the groaning of creation. This theme is found in Romans 8…

22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption, the redemption of our bodies… In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. Romans 8.22-23, 26

The creation groans. The Spirit groans within us. We groan with creation.

It seems the vocation of the Christian life is to groan with the pain of the world. Wherever the world is hurting, the Spirit awakens us to the same pain; pushing us towards a missional existence. One day this world will be free from its bondage, but until that time, those who have the “firstfruits” of this freedom are called to implement a future reality in the present! I wonder what it would look like if more church communities took this calling seriously?