Earlier this week, I met with a prospective seminary student for
lunch. As is common for first-time meetings at Grace Community Church,
our discussion began with testimonies of how the Lord saved us. This
particular brother had a Christian friend whose very welcoming family
often shared the Gospel with him and invited him to church. As friendly
and as clear as they were, though, the seed of the Gospel fell on fallow
ground—until the father of the family had contracted a life-threatening
illness. When this young man saw how the family responded to suffering
with such confidence, joy, and peace, his heart began to pay attention
to the Source of that steadfastness. He began to read his Bible with
greater earnestness and listen to the sermons he heard in church with
greater interest. Eventually, the Lord saved him.
I tell that story because it only further legitimizes the need for
Christians to learn how to suffer well—how to suffer righteously. I
mentioned in last week’s post how necessary it is to be equipped with a
theology of suffering while not yet in the midst of a particular trial.
The fact of the matter is, the heat of an intensely trying time often
clouds our vision and our judgment, so that we fail to act the way we
know we should. We respond to suffering sinfully because we have not
prepared to suffer righteously beforehand, when our vision is clear. Continue at Mike Riccardi
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