While we know we have an inheritance in heaven, to take possession of it, we must be willing to endure suffering (Romans 8:17).  What should help us make it through the suffering is realizing that the glory that will be revealed in us later is far greater than any suffering we have to go through now (ver. 18).  The glory that will be revealed in us refers to the redemption of our bodies (ver. 23), that is, the time when the mortal body becomes immortal.  That is what we sometimes refer to as the “what of our hope.”  Heaven is the “where” of our hope, but our glorious bodies are the “what.”  Paul spoke of this in another place.

1 Corinthians 15:42-44 (ESV)
⁴² So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. ⁴³ It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. ⁴⁴ It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

The spiritual body that Paul speaks of is the body that we shall have in the resurrection, that is, a body that is redeemed from all corruption and decay, and it is a part of what makes heaven so attractive.  Would you want to spend eternity in a physical body that wears down and is sometimes overwhelmed with aches and pains?  No, of course not.  However, in heaven we will have a body like the one our glorified Savior has now.  Listen to John: 

1 John 3:2 (ESV)
² Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.

Here is how Paul referred to it in yet another place.

Philippians 3:20-21 (ESV)
²⁰  But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹  who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

Both of these passages speak of the future glory that will be revealed in us as Paul taught us in Romans 8.  Thinking of Romans 8, while we may have to suffer now, we have the Holy Spirit to help us when we are weak (ver. 26), intercede for us when we pray (vers. 26-27), and to remind us that all things will work for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose (ver. 28).

All of this reminds us that our hope is built upon a solid foundation.  We can be sure, as long as we remain faithful, that we will be clothed with our glorified bodies someday.  What a glorious hope it is—living forever in heaven with a body like our Lord’s, never experiencing the pain and sorrow associated with our present bodies.  Let’s all hold on to this hope set before us and rejoice.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.