Groaning.

Groaning. It's kind of awkward. Kind of uncomfortable. Kind of a different thing. Don't always think about it a lot. God does.

When I come home for lunch or get home in the afternoon from work, I move towards Lea and embrace her and when I do, 9 times out of 10, Lacy the girl dog will make some sort of a howling, groaning sound. Don't know why she does, but it is pretty consistent. You see an injury of an athlete in a game and somehow you feel it inside of yourself and maybe even make a noise out loud as you watch it. You walk through an Emergency room and you hear people in pain from sickness and injury and their sounds affect you. You're with a loved one or friend when they get news that someone they love has been killed or has died and they begin to weep or wail or groan and though it's not happening directly to you, you get it. You feel it.

This past week there has been a lot of coverage of the death of former President Bush. One particular video clip impacted me. Friend of Bush, Senator Bob Dole, was rolled in his wheelchair to sit by the casket of President Bush to honor his friend. As he arrived, his care giver had to pick him up out of the wheel chair and hold him up to stand. Senator Dole saluted with some effort and then was helped to sit back down in the wheel chair. There was then a close up on his face as he sat and looked at the flag draped casket. You could see tears in his eyes. You could see story on his face. You could see a longing to be with his friend. You could see the groaning.

Groaning. Not the daily talk topic around town, but it's real. It's the deep sound of the heart when words are insufficient. It's the heart language of longing when no food, sex, or entertainment will cover over the desperate yearning for more than what you and I can create for ourselves. O, I try. We try. But we can't really do it. So, we could groan.

I am so thankful that God is not silent about things like groaning. He talks about it in the bible book of Romans, chapter 8, verses 18 to 27. It's in there. I think it's really kind that it's in there, because when we're groaning, we know we're not weird. Because groaning is a thing. God says so. These words in Romans are really astounding. They tell us that....

*The creation groans in waiting. All of non-human creation is waiting. How can rocks wait and groan? I can't tell you how, but if they can cry out in praise if we're not praising, then they must be able to wait and groan. It actually says that creation's groaning is like that of the pains of childbirth. Hmmm. Waiting for something to be born. Wonder what?

*Humans groan in anticipation. Those of the creation that can have the fruit of the Spirit formed in us are also groaning and waiting. It says that we groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons and daughters, us being redeemed by our loving Papa. We know we are made for our Papa. That's what the groaning is. We long to belong to Papa, rest with Papa, play with Papa, love Papa, be loved by Papa, be with Papa. Adopt me Papa! I want it! And this is really important here. It says that as we wait, we hope. Satan wants to kill hope. He even sometimes convinces us to do it for him. But Papa helps us wait and hope for what we don't yet have. And we groan.

*And God, the Spirit groans in intercession for us. This is crazy good. The Spirit helps us in our weakness. This is so otherworldly. In this world weakness is exploited, mocked and humiliated. Not the Spirit. He helps. He invites. He doesn't push away. This is tender intimacy. We're weak. He's intimate with us. The Spirit Himself talks to Papa with groans that words cannot express. This is powerful intimacy. We're weak. He's confidently speaking words to Papa about us and for us.

And now the clincher. What 's all this groaning for? What's it directed at? Verse 19 exclaims it! "The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons and daughters of God to be revealed!" That's it. You and I being revealed as we gloriously really are. Come on! Yes! You and me busting out in revelation as glorious sons and daughters of Papa. It goes on in verse 21..."in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God." Inanimate creation and animate creation in an all consuming, unified, glorious freedom.

Adopt me! I want it in! Pick me!

And why groaning and waiting in Advent? Because many times the sound of the soul waiting is groaning, if not outwardly, inwardly. The arrival of the Christ child means we're that much closer to the all consuming, unified, glorious freedom.

Breath.

There's more.