Sup everyone!
What better way to start a post on suffering than mentioning the MCATs? It's finally over and i should have the scores by the end of the month, thx so much to everyone who prayed for me!
A while back i heard an awesome observation made in a matt chandler sermon and have wanted to write about it for the longest time. Hebrews 11 paints this tapestry of faith in israel's history with stories about moses, gideon, and david, etc etc. But then we drop down to v35 where we go from stories of triumph to stories of saints being tortured, imprisoned, and brutally killed. Triumph to suffering in a single verse without even the decency of a transition word. The observation made was that the suffering saints post-v35 were no worse than the triumphant saints pre-v35. In other words whether they triumphed or suffered was entirely in the will of God and not their actions.
I think it's so easy for us to look at sufferings of good people (esp ourselves) and the successes of people who (in our opinion) does not deserve it and question the justice of God. Without intending to, it's so easy to see blessings in our lives as rewards for our services and obedience and our sufferings as acts of punishment from God when NEITHER is the case. Jesus himself said of those who would leave their families and treasures that they would receive back a hundred fold what they've lost in His name in the age to come - our reward for obedience is eternal life, God himself; not the beautiful wife, or obedient children, or prosperous careers. By the same token the punishment for our sins, including the ones we're about to commit later on today, was completely paid for at the cross. For us to say "God is making me go through this suffering to punish me for that sin" is tantamount to us saying the cross was not enough.
I guess the encouragement for the week, for those of us who're struggling, to not look upon sufferings of this life as injustice. Christ having to die for our sins is injustice: gracious and merciful injustice. Suffering in this age is not punitive, rather it is purifying. Also, God would never give us more than we're able, by His grace and power, to handle. Keeping both these truths firmly in mind, I want to be able to see suffering as acts of mercy and love from God and to be able to rejoice and praise Him both in it and for it.
Have a happy wednesday and may we suffer well this week,
Edward
"...who conquered kingdoms...shut the mouths of lions...routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured...while others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawn in two...." - Hebrews 11:33-36
"Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?" - Job 41:11
"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." - Romans 8:18
Kinda wrong, slightly freudian...but very very funny.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yDDMznsa4A&feature=related
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