"Often the things we have to surrender are not easy to give up - things like health, our convenience, our comfort, or our reputation. As my wife and I get older I often wish that we could die around the same time. But the law of averages says that that is unlikely. My wife says it would be better for me to die first because she knows how lost I would be without her. We know that one of us will have to surrender the one who dies first. If through surrender we are willing to accept the possibility of this deeply sorrowful parting we can prepare for in constructively. The surrender will hopefully be an affirmation that no one not even our beloved spouse will take the place of supreme importance that God has in our lives. "
This is a quote from Ajith Fernando in his book "The Call to Joy and Pain"
I picked up this book to try and work through what I see as being a major blindspot in the church today. I don't think that the average believer in the church today has a proper theology of suffering. You might ask yourself you mean suffering is not a bad term or a negative term?
We find in 2Cor 5:18-19 that God has given us the ministry of reconciliation which came by and through and for Christ. It is because of this ministry that we are called amassadors of Christ. Four verses latter in 6:4 Paul continues with: " as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger, by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for our right and left hand" now in light of all this he continues with a list of paradoxical expressions that reflect Pauls view of his suffering for ministry
" through honor and dishonor,
through slander and praise
We are treated as imposters and yet are true
as unknown and yet well known
as dying and behold we live
as punished and yet not killed
as sorrowful yet always rejoicing
as poor yet making many rich
as having nothing yet possessing everything."
"That's the attitude that a biblically grounded theology of suffering produces in a Christian. As I said earlier the happiest people in the world are not those who have no suffering- they are those who are not afraid of suffering." Ajith Fernando same book
Lord create in me a heart of underdstanding when it comes to suffering. For I am a slave to righteousness and as a slave I have no rights of my own only those that you have given me. Lord help me to come and die daily to your will not succombing often to my own selfish desires but rather help me to produce a life that is in selfless, counter cultural and God intoxicated.
" For I am grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken and thus God I want to offer to you acceptable worship with reverence and awe for you my GOd are a consumning fire" (Hebrews 12:28 personalization added)
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1 comment:
exactly.
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