Today I had a picture of children's author Julia Donaldson's "Stick Man", an animated character made from a branch of a tree. It has made me think of apostle Paul's description of nature, the whole of creation "groaning as in the pains of childbirth ...we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies" (Romans 8:22-23). As God's creation, nature and mankind are waiting in anticipation for a better existence with God, like a woman in the pain of child birth but with great anticipation. We have the promise of this when the Holy Spirit resides in us, giving us this reassurance. Without the Holy Spirit the thought of ultimately living with God seems as imaginary as The Stick Man.
