Pastor’s Page

"We know that the whole creation has been groaning together as it suffers together the pains of labour, and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of ourbodies."

- Romans 8:22-23

In the epistle to the Romans, Paul invokes the imagery of childbirth. Birth is natural, but that doesn't mean it's straightforward. We've all been born, but perhaps it's for the best that we don't remember it. Those who have given birth, or witnessed a child coming into the world, would know that some births are traumatic, others are healing, and some may be in-between.

Perhaps it ought to come as no surprise that the first experience of our lives says so much about all of life, not just for human beings, but for all creation (even the parts of it which do not give birth in the way mammals do, in order for new life to flourish). Humans, along with all creation, experience the pain of a hurting world, marred by sin, conflict and destruction, as the kingdom of God has not yet come. Yet, we have hope in Christ, that what may currently be broken will be redeemed.

When writing about delivering her second child in 2020, the author Anna McGahan described the pains of labour as 'pain with a purpose' . For a mother to give of her body is necessary for a child to be born, for new life to come about. Paul is writing about a similar sort of pain in his epistle, reminding followers of Jesus that their labour is not in vain. We have the first fruits of the Spirit, meaning God's saving grace is within us.

Furthermore, Paul does not only use the metaphor of labour pains, but likens Christians being grafted into God's family to an adoption. This language reminds us not only how families are formed through many different means, but also how God's family is one shaped by love and generosity. In His love, God chooses us, to give us hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).   

Blessings, Pastor Abbey Sim