"Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow Me and I'll show you how. "
Luke 9:24 The Message
I can recall three times in the past thirty five years when I had the thought that life was going along swimmingly. Three. That's less than once every ten years, and within a week or less of each of those three thoughts, the tide changed.
Sometimes I think I spend 90% of my energy in attempts to make my life easier, to get away from whatever causes me pain at the moment. In short, I run from suffering - even if that "suffering" is, in actuality, a mere inconvenience.
The passage above from Luke 9 is a familiar one. In most versions, it says something like, "if you try to gain your life, you lose it; but if you lose your life for My sake, you'll gain it." Of course, Jesus is talking about martyrs here, right? Or bringing it a little closer to home, He's talking about giving of yourself and your time to help others when you'd rather be reading a good book or watching TV. At least that's what I've always thought.
This past February was one of those three times in my life when I had that disaster-predicting thought. Like I said, it didn't last long. Not only did I start getting hit by rotten apples, but someone unspeakably close and dear to me got run over by a bulldozer (metaphorically speaking), then it backed up and did it again and again and again. Now I have the issues that immediately surround me and cause me pain as well as those that feel like lead anvils piercing my heart. . . I'm running with all my might to get away from this suffering.Yet I know, both theologically and experientially, that suffering will conform me (and those I love) into His image. It will do the opposite of what one would expect - it will strengthen faith. It will purify and change. Still I run.
But what if I turn around and face it head-on? What if I open my arms wide and accept it? What if I embrace it as Eugene Peterson translated Luke 9:24 in The Message? What would suffering look like then? Would I actually be able to "count it all joy when I meet trials of various kinds?" (James 1:2). I don't know, but maybe it's time I give it a try because this running thing just isn't working.
Luke 9:24 The Message
I can recall three times in the past thirty five years when I had the thought that life was going along swimmingly. Three. That's less than once every ten years, and within a week or less of each of those three thoughts, the tide changed.
Sometimes I think I spend 90% of my energy in attempts to make my life easier, to get away from whatever causes me pain at the moment. In short, I run from suffering - even if that "suffering" is, in actuality, a mere inconvenience.
The passage above from Luke 9 is a familiar one. In most versions, it says something like, "if you try to gain your life, you lose it; but if you lose your life for My sake, you'll gain it." Of course, Jesus is talking about martyrs here, right? Or bringing it a little closer to home, He's talking about giving of yourself and your time to help others when you'd rather be reading a good book or watching TV. At least that's what I've always thought.
This past February was one of those three times in my life when I had that disaster-predicting thought. Like I said, it didn't last long. Not only did I start getting hit by rotten apples, but someone unspeakably close and dear to me got run over by a bulldozer (metaphorically speaking), then it backed up and did it again and again and again. Now I have the issues that immediately surround me and cause me pain as well as those that feel like lead anvils piercing my heart. . . I'm running with all my might to get away from this suffering.Yet I know, both theologically and experientially, that suffering will conform me (and those I love) into His image. It will do the opposite of what one would expect - it will strengthen faith. It will purify and change. Still I run.
But what if I turn around and face it head-on? What if I open my arms wide and accept it? What if I embrace it as Eugene Peterson translated Luke 9:24 in The Message? What would suffering look like then? Would I actually be able to "count it all joy when I meet trials of various kinds?" (James 1:2). I don't know, but maybe it's time I give it a try because this running thing just isn't working.
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