God has prepared great things for his people
18 During this time now, we suffer. But one day God will show us all the great things he has prepared for us. That will make the trouble that we have now seem very small. 19 The whole universe that God has made now waits for something great to happen. Everything is waiting with hope to find out who God's children really are.
20 God has caused everything in the universe to lose its purpose. It did not choose to be like that. It was God who decided that it should be like that. Then it could hope for something better in a future time. 21 At that time, the universe will not continue to spoil. It will not become worse and worse, as it must do now. Instead, it will become free to enjoy God's great glory. That is the glory that belongs to God's children.
22 We know that everything in the universe still suffers now. Everything cries out in pain, like a woman who is ready to have a baby. 23 It is the same for us who are believers. We have received God's Spirit as the first of his gifts to us, but we also cry inside ourselves. We are waiting for the time when God will finish his great work. Then we will belong to him completely as his children. Our bodies will be free from the power of sin.
