Suffering Glory
Romans 8:17
"If so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." Romans 8:17b
" There is a ministry of adversity that we shall neglect at our peril....In times of stress and difficulty we learn afresh our dependence upon God. When things are going well, we have confidence in our capacity to look after our own affairs. We feel that we can do it alone. But when obstacles hedge us in on every side, the conceit fades out: we measure our frailty and cry aloud for help. We are not the mighty creatures we had foolishly supposed for all of us are within the hand of God. And that is a discovery worth making..." from W.E.Sangster, These Things Abide: Devotional Meditations in Dark Day, 1940
The great English Methodist W. E. Sangster above gives us as the cover says, " beautiful and soul-searching meditations ...to all who in these dark days are burdened with anxiety and sorrow." As I was working on this unfortunately this week we had another terrorist attack in France. I was thinking of a definition on suffering, but that is not necessary for we all know what it is. We do not ask for it, but it comes in many forms. I thought of my English grandmother Kathleen Shute Morgan who told me of the days in London when they were being bombed by the Nazi airplanes, and they had to take refuge in the subway at a moment's notice. In Iraq we were to take quick action if the gas attack sounded , another reminder of a war that seemed so evil.
In this world we experience suffering as the Apostle says in Romans 8. We do suffer for our faith, our values, and our religious beliefs as well. When we yield our lives and our futures to God and to Christ we are a target of much that is evil in this world.
Our text from the Letter to the Romans says , " 15For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together."
We can say no to fear in our lives and live in God's power and truth as we go about making decisions and doing His Will for ourselves and relationships with others. We have the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit as a Christian, man, woman or child. Yes, there is suffering in this place and world but we will receive eternal glory because of His claim in adoption . He is our Father and we are the children of God. We are heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ.
Nouwen said it this way about brokeness, " Being Broken
Jesus was broken on the cross. He lived his suffering and death not as an evil to avoid at all costs, but as a mission to embrace. We too are broken. We live with broken bodies, broken hearts, broken minds or broken spirits. We suffer from broken relationships.
How can we live our brokenness? Jesus invites us to embrace our brokenness as he embraced the cross and live it as part of our mission. He asks us not to reject our brokenness as a curse from God that reminds us of our sinfulness but to accept it and put it under God's blessing for our purification and sanctification. Thus our brokenness can become a gateway to new life."
There is hope. There is glory in this world in the next, in the Words of encouragement which we receive from God in the Holy Scripture . We are not to lose hope but to face the challenges, adversities and suffering we experience with faith, love and hope.
"If so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." Romans 8:17b
"If so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." Romans 8:17b
" There is a ministry of adversity that we shall neglect at our peril....In times of stress and difficulty we learn afresh our dependence upon God. When things are going well, we have confidence in our capacity to look after our own affairs. We feel that we can do it alone. But when obstacles hedge us in on every side, the conceit fades out: we measure our frailty and cry aloud for help. We are not the mighty creatures we had foolishly supposed for all of us are within the hand of God. And that is a discovery worth making..." from W.E.Sangster, These Things Abide: Devotional Meditations in Dark Day, 1940
The great English Methodist W. E. Sangster above gives us as the cover says, " beautiful and soul-searching meditations ...to all who in these dark days are burdened with anxiety and sorrow." As I was working on this unfortunately this week we had another terrorist attack in France. I was thinking of a definition on suffering, but that is not necessary for we all know what it is. We do not ask for it, but it comes in many forms. I thought of my English grandmother Kathleen Shute Morgan who told me of the days in London when they were being bombed by the Nazi airplanes, and they had to take refuge in the subway at a moment's notice. In Iraq we were to take quick action if the gas attack sounded , another reminder of a war that seemed so evil.
In this world we experience suffering as the Apostle says in Romans 8. We do suffer for our faith, our values, and our religious beliefs as well. When we yield our lives and our futures to God and to Christ we are a target of much that is evil in this world.
Our text from the Letter to the Romans says , " 15For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together."
We can say no to fear in our lives and live in God's power and truth as we go about making decisions and doing His Will for ourselves and relationships with others. We have the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit as a Christian, man, woman or child. Yes, there is suffering in this place and world but we will receive eternal glory because of His claim in adoption . He is our Father and we are the children of God. We are heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ.
Nouwen said it this way about brokeness, " Being Broken
Jesus was broken on the cross. He lived his suffering and death not as an evil to avoid at all costs, but as a mission to embrace. We too are broken. We live with broken bodies, broken hearts, broken minds or broken spirits. We suffer from broken relationships.
How can we live our brokenness? Jesus invites us to embrace our brokenness as he embraced the cross and live it as part of our mission. He asks us not to reject our brokenness as a curse from God that reminds us of our sinfulness but to accept it and put it under God's blessing for our purification and sanctification. Thus our brokenness can become a gateway to new life."
There is hope. There is glory in this world in the next, in the Words of encouragement which we receive from God in the Holy Scripture . We are not to lose hope but to face the challenges, adversities and suffering we experience with faith, love and hope.
"If so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." Romans 8:17b
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