eagerly waiting for the adoption,
the redemption of our body."
Romans 8:23
An elderly man was a shut-in, confined to a bed with a body wasting away. Some friends visited him. They told him how much everyone missed seeing him at church. He was always faithful to attend when he was in good health. One visitor said to him, "I know you must get discouraged." He smiled and said, "God blessed me with many years of good health. I should have thanked Him more often for a healthy body. You know what's happening to me is not so unusual. We all live in bodies that age and eventually give most people problems. I'm just waiting here until the redemption of my body."
All believers are waiting for the redemption of the body. We have the promise that our bodies shall be transformed into the likeness of the resurrection body of Jesus. We don't completely understand what that will be like. "It has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is" (1 John 3:2). That's the blessed hope of every believer in Christ. Your new body shall be like His.
Many people have no hope beyond this present life. The believer's hope is in Christ. His glorious return is our blessed hope. When we see Him face to face, we shall be changed into His glorious likeness, and that includes the redemption of our body. Only the Holy Spirit can put this hope in our hearts (1 Corinthians 13:13). Unbelief says, "That's myth and folklore. Who would believe it?" The Holy Spirit says, "We shall be like Him." Many cannot believe because they have resisted the Spirit of Christ. Others cannot help but believe, because the gift of hope is real in our hearts. Our hope is in Christ.
Prayer: Father, we praise You for the hope given to us through the Spirit of Christ. Amen.
