Contrast is essential for biblical hope and perseverance. Paul made it a discipline to regularly compare his present suffering with his promised future. This was evidenced throughout his letters and was a means of fostering rugged faith in the midst of painful circumstances. Take these two prominent examples:
- “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Rom 8:18).
- “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Cor 4:17).
In Romans 8:18, Paul recognizes that the pain of “now” can blur our vision of the hope of “tomorrow.” He calls us to the task of comparing our present suffering with the glory that is coming. Douglas Moo states, “We must, Paul suggests, weigh suffering in the balance with the glory that is the final state of every believer; and so ‘weighty,’ so transcendently wonderful, is this glory that suffering flies in the air as if it had no weight at all.”[1]
In 2 Corinthians 4:17, the task of comparison yields two important results. First, the heavy suffering is made light when the weight of coming glory is felt. Second, pain that feels permanent is rendered temporary when the eternality of future hope is understood.
Erwin Lutzer captures these results in his commentary, “The imagery is of a scale that we’ve all seen in market places. You put a one-pound weight on one side, and when it balances, you know that you have an equal weight on the other side. Paul says if you put all of your troubles on one side of the scale, and then put the eternal weight of glory on the other side, the scale will go plunk! The ‘eternal weight of glory’ so outweighs our momentary troubles, that there is, quite literally, no comparison.”[2]
Martin Luther sums up the thrust of these two passages with his conventional flare.
“We do not grasp with our hands that we will never die, and besides will obtain a body that need not suffer or be sick. Whoever could take that to heart would have to say that even if he were burned or drowned ten times, if that were possible, it would still be nothing at all compared to the future life of glory. What is temporal suffering, no matter how long it is, compared with eternal life?”[3]
Two qualifications are necessary when discussing comparisons and suffering. First, Paul’s object of comparison is not the sufferings of others. While this is a temptation for us, the outcome is consistently unhelpful. Suffering is not a competition and the experience of others is not intended to gauge the severity of our situation or to determine the appropriate response to our pain.[4]
Second, comparing our sufferings to the future hope does not negate or minimize the pain we are going through. Scripture never patronizes our hardships with heaven, never suggests our present pain is illegitimate, and never muzzles us when we are hurting. As Moo says, “A Christian views the suffering of this life in a larger, world-transcending context that, while not alleviating its present intensity, transcends it with the confident expectation that suffering is not the final word.”[5]
The discipline of comparison allows the future to invade the present and fosters the necessary resilience to put one foot in front of the other.[6] Further, it fosters a biblical realism that holds present and future in tension, affirming the coming glory and not negating the present sorrow.
[1]Douglas Moo, The Epistle to the Romans: The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1996), 511. “These ‘sufferings of the present time’ are not only those ‘trials’ that are endured directly because of confession of Christ — for instance, persecution — but encompass the whole gamut of suffering, including things such as illness, bereavement, hunger, financial reverses, and death itself.” F.F. Bruce, Romans: Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2008), 169-170. “But the glory to come far outweighs the affliction of the present. The affliction is light and temporary when compared with the all-surpassing and everlasting glory. So, Paul, writing against a back-ground of recent and (even for him) unparalleled tribulation, had assured his friends in Corinth a year or two before this that ‘this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison’ (2 Cor 4:17). It is not merely that the glory is a compensation for the suffering; it actually grows out of the suffering. There is an organic relation between the two for the believer as surely as there was for the Lord. When the day of glory dawns, the glory will be manifested on a universal scale in the people of God, the glorified community of Christ.”
[2]Erwin W. Lutzer, “Living Between Two Worlds: II Corinthians 4:16-18,” The Journal of the Evangelical Homiletics Society, 3:2 (2003), 56-57. “This was written by a man who endured many hardships. There was the personal suffering of a health issue—the thorn in the flesh. Then there was the relational suffering of friends leaving him; in fact, a friend of his ‘did him much harm.’ He also experienced economic suffering; he had to make tents to survive. He lists more than 31 occasions of personal hardship in II Corinthians 11: 23-33. Yet he says this suffering is like putting a fly on one side of the scale and an elephant on the other. What is this eternal weight of glory? C.S. Lewis points out that it is not ‘fame’ as we think of it; that would be selfish. But the glory is that God will delight in us like an artist who delights in his work. The delight we will have in knowing that we are a joy to God will bring uncontrollable and continual joy. Thus, we experience the purpose for which we were created. Compare that to the thirty years we struggled with arthritis; or the pain of a divorce or the betrayal of a friend. Or the loneliness of widowhood. All that will be as light as a feather in comparison to being like Christ, for ‘we shall see Him as he is.’” Colin G. Kruse, 2 Corinthians: Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Nottingham, England: IVP Academic, 2015), 152-153. “Paul further explains the reason why he does not lose heart in the midst of affliction: For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. Paul’s troubles were, of course, neither light nor momentary in themselves. They were the burdensome and virtually constant accompaniment of his ministry. Yet, by comparison with the weighty and eternal character of the glory they were achieving for him, he could describe them as light and momentary (cf. Rom. 8:17–23). Paul saw a connection between the troubles he endured and the glory that would far outweigh them.”
[3]Gwenfair Walters Adams, Romans 1-8. Reformation Commentary on Scripture (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2019), 448. Martin Luther states, “Only look at how he turns his back on the world and his face to the future revelation, as if he saw no misfortune or misery anywhere on earth, but only joy! ‘In truth,’ he says, ‘even if things go badly for us, what is our suffering compared to the inexpressible joy and glory which is to be revealed in us? It is not worth comparing with that or even with being called ‘suffering.’ However, what is lacking is that we do not see with our bodily eyes the great and excellent glory for which we are to wait…What is a single halfpenny compared to a world full of gold coins? Yet even such a parable does not fit here, because both are perishable. Therefore, even all the world’s suffering is to be counted as nothing at all compared to the glorious, eternal reality that we shall see and possess eternally. ‘Therefore, I ask you, dear brothers and sisters, to be afraid of no suffering, even if you should be slaughtered. If you are genuine coheirs, then a part of your inheritance will be that you also suffer at the same time. However, what does this suffering amount to, if it is compared with the eternal glory that has been prepared for you and already earned by your Savior, Jesus Christ? It is not worth comparing.’ Thus St. Paul makes all suffering on earth into a droplet and tiny spark, but he makes the glory we are to hope for into an infinite ocean and a great fire.”
[4]Brad Hambrick, “Making Peace with Romans 8:28,” Journal of Biblical Counseling, 28:3 (2014), 46. “Often, we hear stories of others’ suffering and beat ourselves up for complaining because ‘Ours isn’t that bad.’ Or we search for stories that are worse than our own, thinking it will shrink our pain. Natasha might say, ‘At least I’m not a quadriplegic or held hostage by a terrorist… I guess things could still be worse.’ This misconstrues suffering as a competitive sport. Simply put, just because someone else got hit by a truck doesn’t mean my knee surgery hurts any less. We are not competing with Auschwitz for God’s compassion. In order to minister effectively to sufferers, we must strip away the competitive mindset. It accuses sufferers of being complaining whiners, and the shame of that discourages prayers for help.”
[5]Moo, The Epistle to the Romans, 511.
[6]Marjorie Ward, “Why Parkinson’s Disease?: Why Not?” The Journal of Biblical Counseling, 23:1, 2005, 37–40. Ward identifies seven key components for journeying well through PD, one of which is perseverance. Her list includes: faith, hope, grace, humor, perseverance, prayer, and purpose.