So Much Better! – March 29, 2023

Read: Romans 8:11-18

Our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
Romans 8:18

So Much Better!

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

What’s going wrong in your life today? You can probably come up with quite a list. The sin and brokenness in our world make life hard. Maybe you or someone you love is sick. Maybe other kids have been mean to you lately, and you wonder when you’ll find a real friend. Maybe the weather has made it hard to go outside and do what you love doing. Maybe you feel sad today, and you can’t even describe why. There are a lot of troubles in life. You have them too.

So listen to this promise from the Bible: “Our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). Do you understand what that verse is saying? On earth, we are going to have troubles. Everybody has troubles! But God says that our troubles are nothing compared with how great heaven is going to be.

As hard as being sick is, heaven is going to be so much better! As disappointing as life can be, heaven is going to be so much better! As sad as you might feel today, heaven is going to be so much better! The harder life is, the more God teaches us to look forward to all his blessings in heaven. Every sadness and trouble in life reminds us: “Heaven is so much better!”

That’s even true of death. Even when we think of death—that worst trouble of all—we can think of heaven. Through faith in Jesus, you and I are heirs of God. That means that God promises to give us everything he has. What does God have? Everything, including heaven!

So don’t get discouraged when things go wrong in your life this week. Those troubles remind us how much we need Jesus and his forgiveness every day. And those troubles also teach us to think about heaven. No matter what happens today, there is a something waiting for you that is so much better!

Closing Prayer:

Dear Jesus, life can be really hard. Please bless our family today as we face ______________. Use every trouble of life to teach us that heaven is so much better! Amen.

The questions below are to help families discuss this devotion. The questions are divided by age group as suggestions, but anyone could reflect on any of the questions as they desire.

Questions for Younger Children

• Should we expect our lives on earth to be easy or hard?
• What is the cause of all the bad things in our world?

Questions for Elementary Age Children

• Is it better to have an easy life on earth and go to hell or to have a difficult life on earth and go to heaven? Explain your answer.
• Why might we not care about Jesus if everything in our lives was always going great?

Questions for Middle School and Above

• Share a story from the Bible of someone who had a really hard life but then got to live forever in heaven.
• Look up Revelation 21:4. What are four things that are not going to be in heaven?