Posted: 2/15/2015 10:34:18 PM EDT
|
The more you try to follow jesus, the worse it will get in every area and will break you or make you but it is a refining fire.
no words but hoping for the best, preparing for the worst |
|
Explain.
It's true that Jesus didn't promise us a bed of roses or a popular life of ease. It's also true that the norm for Christians has been suffering and struggle and minority, counter-cultural status. Wars and rumors of wars. And yet Christianity (in the Catholic version at least) is full of feast days, celebrations, seasons for rejoicing despite the suffering and persecution and daily grind with the world, the flesh and the devil. We can find peace and joy despite suffering. The martyrs found peace and joy even in torture.... understand, suffering is not happy....one is not happy when suffering. Jesus wasn't happy on the cross. But he was joyful in that he was fulfilling the Father's will, and knew it. The hero who dives on a hand grenade is not 'happy' to do it, but he is joyful - he's doing what he must to save his buddies' lives. If they had a moment to reflect on it, most would not flee (and live with their buddies' deaths on their conscience) they'd jump on the grenade all over again..... So that's the paradox of the cross for Christians..... that suffering and pain are not the worst evils. Loss and sorrow are not the worst evils.... the only true evils are our sins. Our Lord spoke to this when he mentioned both natural evil (the tower that fell on people) and man-made evil (Pilate mixing the galilean's blood with their sacrifices) and concluded, all this will happen to you unless you repent.... in other words, the salvation from natural and man-made evil is found in God's grace, in repenting and being forgiven.... if towers crush us or governments unjustly harm us, we're still safe so long as we're innocent before God. |
|
I'm not sure I agree, OP...
If anything, challenges in life have brought me closer to Him. I have long since stopped seeing "bad" things that happen to me as anything other than opportunities to test my faith, and I have always been delivered out the other side better than before. |