2-24-2017

Good Morning All,

             Romans 5: 3-5; “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴ and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵ and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

     One of the most difficult discussions to have with some Christians is why they suffer.  It is easy to feel that pain.  Sometimes it is truly physical suffering like a bad back or a bad knee.  Sometimes it is a relational problem, like not getting along with your in-laws or a sibling or a child.  Sometimes it is financial, like when it seems that the neighbors get the right rains but we don’t.  Sometimes it seems that the “breaks” just go the wrong way.  It feels like when one thing goes wrong, two and three follow shortly thereafter.  Some wonder why being a Christian doesn’t equate to everything going right.

    The truth is that we still live in the world.  We still live in a broken creation in which chaos is the norm.  Random events occur throughout creation, the lightning strike that hits a tree that falls on a house or the tire that blows out on a crowded freeway will always occur.  It happens to the believer it happens to the unbeliever; the difference is how we view it.  The unbeliever looks only at today and maybe tomorrow but the believer looks at the long term, we look to eternity.  We look to an eternity in which we live with Jesus in a perfect renewed creation.  Randomness goes away and God’s perfect order is restored.  To the unbeliever, struggles in this world are forever; to the believer they are a temporary battle.

    Through it all we have hope, the complete and unwavering, joyful expectation of eternal life is what we cling to.  This is God’s love gives us, it gives us hope.  No matter how difficult life can be; no struggle will be greater than the joy we will know in all eternity.  We grow knowing that our loving Father will never leave us or abandon us.  The struggles of this life will never separate us from his love.  His grace will always carry us and through our struggles we can see the hope of salvation.

     It is not that we desire to suffer but rather that the circumstances that cause us to suffer do not define who we are.  We are not people with no love, or no health or no wealth but rather we are people of God.  We are the redeemed of Christ living with the ever certain promise form God that we have eternal life with him.  We have the certainty of his love forever.  We have the blessing of his grace to calm us and his Word to encourage us.  We do not face our battles alone; we face them in his loving arms.  We have hope for we are his children.  We have hope because he is our God.

Father, defend us from all evil and if evil strikes, keep us strong in our faith.  Protect all your children and be with those who are especially struggling at this time.  Send your Spirit to enliven their spirit and to renew the hope that lives in them.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret