Greetings
The story abounds that when ancient crafters repaired broken china, gold was used to fill the cracks or as the glue; thus making the repaired object more precious than its original state. The story may be exactly that – a story; but it is a good starting point for today’s Holy Nougat
“Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.” Romans 8:18 NLT
Sometimes God’s Word is hard to hear or bear. Pain and suffering is not always easy to accept; especially when we are hearing about glory later. And some suffering seem to be about changing us in the wrong way.
Consider most countries’ headlines in recent weeks – whether it’s the Ebola crisis or increasing cases of murder-suicides, it seems that life as we know it is getting worse; long before the glory is a reality. For, for many, with the Ebola crisis comes fear, suffering, mass burials, travel restrictions. And murder suicides hardly began on the day of the fact. Moreover, where the persons just ‘snapped’, there is likely a trigger, or that’s the picture painted by the media. Regardless of the why, those left behind have the burden of the stigma of being related to the accused who is also deceased and the burden of funerary proceedings for the victims and the pain of loss is serious.
There are other forms of suffering in our physical, emotional, public, private and even professional lives. And sometimes we may even wonder ‘Why me?’ We might even get the famous, ‘Why not you’ response. If we have that season of questions, we recall that Jesus asked that the cup be passed from Him, a reminder that we can be vulnerable before the Lord also.
Sometimes, the glimpse of glory comes when we shift our focus – from the number of Ebola deaths; to discerning how those who survived did, and using those conclusions to find a cure. It might be transforming our suffering into someone else’s escape, so that they have better options that enhance life, rather than diminish it.
Yes, suffering is part of our human experience. And sometimes it is excruciating. But having survived, it means God’s glory may be revealed to others (and even to us) through the shifts in focus. And, if we trust God enough, sometimes we even get to experience the transformation of our suffering to dull ache in our memory. That only happens by divine intervention tho. When that happens, we become radiant sources of hope to others.
Will we face our share of suffering? Yes. Can it be prevented? Sometimes. Is God with us during our suffering? Yes. Why doesn’t God prevent suffering? I’m not sure. Is there life after suffering? Yes. The quality depends on our attitude and whether we trust God to mend us with that sliver of hope; so our remodeled, transformed selves is even more valuable and beautiful than we were before.
In Christ’s love and grace . . .
