READ: ROMANS 8:19-25

Have you ever been to a wedding, and when the ceremony was over and it was time for the reception, you had to wait a long time to eat? At the weddings I’ve been to, it’s often the custom to wait to serve the reception meal until the bride and groom arrive, and this can mean a long wait for guests because the bride and groom usually have to take pictures between the ceremony and the reception.

Sometimes, all you can do is keep your hunger at bay with mints, reminding yourself that better food is coming even as your stomach growls loudly! This wedding waiting—complete with a groaning stomach—always reminds me of Romans 8:22, which mentions that creation is “groaning” until Jesus comes back. This verse is referring to how the whole world is waiting for Jesus to return.

But how is creation groaning? It’s not like we hear trees crying when we go for a hike. While it’s true that we don’t typically hear creation groaning, we do see lots of things in the world that cause us to groan or cry—things like pain, death, and brokenness. Those things exist because of sin. Sin destroys everything it touches because it goes against the loving and good Creator.

So, similarly to when we wait for the bride and groom to come back so we can eat and satisfy our hunger at a wedding reception, we’re waiting for Jesus to come back too. Until He does, we still have to deal with the effects of sin, so things are broken and hard—kind of like the often-questionable mints served at wedding receptions.

But when Jesus returns, He’ll get rid of all the sin in the world and make everything new. One day all of creation will be made as wonderful as the delicious wedding food our stomachs groan for. The Bible says that when Jesus returns to earth, all Christians will join Him at a great feast called the wedding feast of the Lamb, because one of Jesus’s names is “the Lamb of God” (John 1:29). We can rejoice as we look forward to the day we will celebrate together at the wedding feast of our Lord (Revelation 19:7). • Aurora Scriver

• When Jesus returns, He’ll right every wrong and get rid of sin and all its effects. He’ll make everything new, and those who trust in Him will receive new bodies and live with Him forever in a world free from sin and death! What makes you groan as you wait for this day? What are you looking forward to most about Jesus’s return?

• We know that all creation has been groaning…for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. Romans 8:22-23 (NLT)