romans 8:18
so i've been reading The Bible.
"We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world." - 1 Cor. 4:12-13
lately i've been thinking a lot about suffering. how it's so easy to get caught up in it. it's also been on my mind a lot because there has been a lot of suffering in the lives of people around me - my mother and her constant, daily pain; a friend of a friend's recent death; another friend in the hospital and unlikely to survive; Daisy Love; people losing jobs, losing family members, and being unable to return to university because it's too expensive. it's kind of scary to think about - and it's not just once a year or a certain season where this type of thing occurs (and that it also occurs outside the familiar spheres of Northern California and Santa Barbara). suffering happens all the time, every day. it's a struggle to feel the weight of all that information and believe that everything will be all right sometimes, especially when the enemy gets in and makes everything worse. a really eye-opening verse i read a while back was Mark 3:27 - "In fact, no one can enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can rob his house." that may just sound like a really strange sort of parable taken out of context (and it kinda is) but the meaning doesn't change. the devil runs rampant on this earth, causing all sorts of mayhem and tempting us to despair. but we have to remember that he has no power (this is the prince of the kingdom of air we're talking about) and that no real damage can be done because of that.
anyway, suffering is a part of life- especially the Christian one. i was constantly reminded of this in Turkey where spiritual attacks were on the daily. it seems to me that the only time you really grow and truly learn more about the nature of God is when there is suffering. i mean, it's kind of difficult to imagine really understanding the suffering of Jesus, Paul, and others unless you are suffering. it's then that we are able to put into affect what the Bible teaches us.
i was at RealityLA the other day and, of course, the sermon was on suffering. i say "of course" because God certainly seems to always bring me to a church that preaches exactly what i'm thinking about and usually tells me what i need to hear. tim chaddick was talking about Romans 12:12 (Romans 12 is all about love, so i was all ears). Romans 12:12 says, "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."
first of all, i have to remind myself that on the long line of eternity, a few days worth of suffering, even a few years, is just a dot. and that every thing happens for a reason. and that no matter what happens, it doesn't change hope (wow, two obama-isms, which still haven't come about [well, change has but... um... is it good?])! hope is eternal and i think we often forget that. that we have put our hope in something unseen, omniscient, omnipresent, and eternal - so there's no real reason to stop hoping - i think that distracting us from hope is where the enemy has the most victories and that's kind of sad. the most important thing that we can remember about joy is that it is not a, "golly gee that'd be nice" but an certainty, an expectation.
so, we are joyful, patient, and faithful (in prayer). if that's not clear instruction on how to live your life, then... i don't even know! it's definitely list of instructions on how to love people, at least.
love expects and is joyful, which enables us to face hardship. love endures and enables us to bear up under the weight of tribulations and still be faithful. love embraces God and the reasons why, even though we may never know them. our love for God enables us to say, "i've been to the mountaintop and i've seen the valley!" our love for God enables us to share with those in need, bless those who persecute us, rejoice with those who rejoice, mourn with those who mourn; it also keeps us humble, careful to do what is right, and live at peace with everyone. and that's about as biblical as it gets, yo.
if i'm going to live my life in any way, i want to live it Romans 12:9-21-style. which starts the way i'd like to end this: with sincerity.
i'm trying to love you like this: "I speak the truth in Christ - I am not lying, my conscience affirms it in the Holy Spirit - I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers." - Romans 9:1-3 paul's love for his people was so strong that he would give up eternity with Christ for them.
whew, believe me when i say that's hard. but, inshallah, i will someday love you selflessly.
love,
always,
Meredith
"We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world." - 1 Cor. 4:12-13
lately i've been thinking a lot about suffering. how it's so easy to get caught up in it. it's also been on my mind a lot because there has been a lot of suffering in the lives of people around me - my mother and her constant, daily pain; a friend of a friend's recent death; another friend in the hospital and unlikely to survive; Daisy Love; people losing jobs, losing family members, and being unable to return to university because it's too expensive. it's kind of scary to think about - and it's not just once a year or a certain season where this type of thing occurs (and that it also occurs outside the familiar spheres of Northern California and Santa Barbara). suffering happens all the time, every day. it's a struggle to feel the weight of all that information and believe that everything will be all right sometimes, especially when the enemy gets in and makes everything worse. a really eye-opening verse i read a while back was Mark 3:27 - "In fact, no one can enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can rob his house." that may just sound like a really strange sort of parable taken out of context (and it kinda is) but the meaning doesn't change. the devil runs rampant on this earth, causing all sorts of mayhem and tempting us to despair. but we have to remember that he has no power (this is the prince of the kingdom of air we're talking about) and that no real damage can be done because of that.
anyway, suffering is a part of life- especially the Christian one. i was constantly reminded of this in Turkey where spiritual attacks were on the daily. it seems to me that the only time you really grow and truly learn more about the nature of God is when there is suffering. i mean, it's kind of difficult to imagine really understanding the suffering of Jesus, Paul, and others unless you are suffering. it's then that we are able to put into affect what the Bible teaches us.
i was at RealityLA the other day and, of course, the sermon was on suffering. i say "of course" because God certainly seems to always bring me to a church that preaches exactly what i'm thinking about and usually tells me what i need to hear. tim chaddick was talking about Romans 12:12 (Romans 12 is all about love, so i was all ears). Romans 12:12 says, "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."
first of all, i have to remind myself that on the long line of eternity, a few days worth of suffering, even a few years, is just a dot. and that every thing happens for a reason. and that no matter what happens, it doesn't change hope (wow, two obama-isms, which still haven't come about [well, change has but... um... is it good?])! hope is eternal and i think we often forget that. that we have put our hope in something unseen, omniscient, omnipresent, and eternal - so there's no real reason to stop hoping - i think that distracting us from hope is where the enemy has the most victories and that's kind of sad. the most important thing that we can remember about joy is that it is not a, "golly gee that'd be nice" but an certainty, an expectation.
so, we are joyful, patient, and faithful (in prayer). if that's not clear instruction on how to live your life, then... i don't even know! it's definitely list of instructions on how to love people, at least.
love expects and is joyful, which enables us to face hardship. love endures and enables us to bear up under the weight of tribulations and still be faithful. love embraces God and the reasons why, even though we may never know them. our love for God enables us to say, "i've been to the mountaintop and i've seen the valley!" our love for God enables us to share with those in need, bless those who persecute us, rejoice with those who rejoice, mourn with those who mourn; it also keeps us humble, careful to do what is right, and live at peace with everyone. and that's about as biblical as it gets, yo.
if i'm going to live my life in any way, i want to live it Romans 12:9-21-style. which starts the way i'd like to end this: with sincerity.
i'm trying to love you like this: "I speak the truth in Christ - I am not lying, my conscience affirms it in the Holy Spirit - I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers." - Romans 9:1-3 paul's love for his people was so strong that he would give up eternity with Christ for them.
whew, believe me when i say that's hard. but, inshallah, i will someday love you selflessly.
love,
always,
Meredith
Awesome post. I have definitely been learning a bit about suffering lately, and I feel that you understand it better than I do with this post. It is true that we learn more through suffering.
ReplyDeleteinshallah, you turk you. but where there is suffering there must also be joy, for we can rejoice in the fact that God has counted us worthy to suffer for his name. for the greater you suffer, the stronger you are in Gods eye, for he sees you as a person who can handle that suffering.
ReplyDeletei don't think it's the more you suffer, the greater God sees you. that doesn't sound like something God would do to me. i think that it's not the "amount" we suffer, but how we view it - how much we totally rely on God.
ReplyDelete