"And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also
rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces
perseverance;
perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does
not disappoint us,
because God has poured out his love into our hearts by
the Holy Spirit, whom he
has given us." -Romans 5:2-5
Most of us don't like to suffer. I know I don't. While this has been amplified by the
emergence of the American Dream, I believe that it is inherent in human nature.
We wish to avoid suffering, and keep the ones we love from suffering. A
"successful life" is often thought of as one in which a person has a lucrative
job, a nice house, a picture perfect family, and no sufferings of any kind. We
want to get through our life unscathed, avoiding all possible harm.
I believe, however, that at numerous points in the Bible, this ideology is
challenged. In the verse mentioned above, Paul actually says that he rejoices
in his sufferings. Looking at the life of Paul, there are obvious and painful
sufferings that he undergeos, the most obvious of these being thrown in prison
on numerous occasions. He is questioned and punished, being ordered to cease
from preaching the gospel.
These particular sufferings that Paul underwent are, I would think, unknown to those living in America.
Thanks be to God that we do not (yet) have a government that has come to
throwing people in prison for the gospel. But in reality, would it really be a
bad thing? I pray that I nor any of my loved ones would ever have to undergo
this type of treatment, but the fact is, perhaps that should not be my prayer.
This verse in Romans informs us that it is sufferings that produce perseverance,
which leads to character, which in turn, leads to hope. Should I then, instead
of praying that God would keep me from suffering, pray that God would order my
life in a way that would produce perseverance, leading to character, and
ultimately leading to the hope that will not disappoint me? I would venture to
say that Jesus is not concerned with us living a happy life. No, Jesus wants us
to live a joyful life--but that joy is found in our hope in the glory of God,
not by our material successes on earth (2 Corinthians
4:18).
While I can't say this from experience, I firmly believe that the hardest time to ever believe this verse is
when it comes to your children. From what I can imagine and what I have seen
and heard, no parent would ever wish suffering upon their children. Their job
is to protect their children, putting their lives above their own. That is an
admirable thing, and I cannot wait to experience the joys of parenting. I
believe, however, that this verse cannot be suspended when it comes to
parenting. As foreign and painful as it sounds, I believe that a parents job is
to pray that God would produce perseverence, character, and hope to grow in
their children, whatever the costs. I realize that I am not speaking out of
experience, and perhaps if parents read this, they may dismiss me as speaking
about things that I don't know. But I am trying to apply the meaning of this
verse to one of the most important and influential areas of life. And I pray
that when I get to that point in life, God will give me the strength to live by
this.
I am not, however, only speaking about parenting. This concept applies to everyone. Our aim in helping each other as fellow Christians is to stand by their side, praying that God would produce
perseverance, character, and hope in them. We rejoice with those who rejoice,
and mourn with those who mourn. But ultimately, we give glory to God in all
situations. And when we see our fellow Christians walking through struggles,
rather than comparing ourselves to them, being thankfully that we are not in
that situation, passing judgment on them, or even just feeling sorry for them,
we should instead see it as an opportunity for God's glory to shine through. As
is seen in John 9, in the healing of the man born blind, when Jesus' disciples
asked him whether the man's blindness resulted from his sin or his parents,
Jesus replied, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so
that the work of God might be displayed in his life" (v. 3). Our life is a
stage in which to put God's glory on display. This will look different in
different people's lives. But the end result is always the same--if our lives
show God's glory, show his ultimate provision and care, and shout out that He is
our creator and Lord, then our lives are counted a
success.
As Jared and I begin to step out into the future into a somewhat unsure situation, we can rest in this verse. Not to say that we are not planning, or that we are throwing all logic and thinking out the window,
but we realize that "The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes
his steps" (Proverbs 16:9). So it is not so much that we are making plans, but
we are seeking God's plan. For "Unless the LORD builds the house, those who
build it labor in vain" (Psalm 127:1). The question is not "will we succeed" or
"will we fail". For what is success or failure? The question is, is God
working in us perseverence, character, and hope? Will our life ultimately give
all the glory to God, not ourselves? These are the marks of a successful life.
Our success does not come from the amount of money we have, the size of our
house, or the prestige of our job. Our success comes when our lives are a
reflection of the glory of our great God.
rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces
perseverance;
perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does
not disappoint us,
because God has poured out his love into our hearts by
the Holy Spirit, whom he
has given us." -Romans 5:2-5
Most of us don't like to suffer. I know I don't. While this has been amplified by the
emergence of the American Dream, I believe that it is inherent in human nature.
We wish to avoid suffering, and keep the ones we love from suffering. A
"successful life" is often thought of as one in which a person has a lucrative
job, a nice house, a picture perfect family, and no sufferings of any kind. We
want to get through our life unscathed, avoiding all possible harm.
I believe, however, that at numerous points in the Bible, this ideology is
challenged. In the verse mentioned above, Paul actually says that he rejoices
in his sufferings. Looking at the life of Paul, there are obvious and painful
sufferings that he undergeos, the most obvious of these being thrown in prison
on numerous occasions. He is questioned and punished, being ordered to cease
from preaching the gospel.
These particular sufferings that Paul underwent are, I would think, unknown to those living in America.
Thanks be to God that we do not (yet) have a government that has come to
throwing people in prison for the gospel. But in reality, would it really be a
bad thing? I pray that I nor any of my loved ones would ever have to undergo
this type of treatment, but the fact is, perhaps that should not be my prayer.
This verse in Romans informs us that it is sufferings that produce perseverance,
which leads to character, which in turn, leads to hope. Should I then, instead
of praying that God would keep me from suffering, pray that God would order my
life in a way that would produce perseverance, leading to character, and
ultimately leading to the hope that will not disappoint me? I would venture to
say that Jesus is not concerned with us living a happy life. No, Jesus wants us
to live a joyful life--but that joy is found in our hope in the glory of God,
not by our material successes on earth (2 Corinthians
4:18).
While I can't say this from experience, I firmly believe that the hardest time to ever believe this verse is
when it comes to your children. From what I can imagine and what I have seen
and heard, no parent would ever wish suffering upon their children. Their job
is to protect their children, putting their lives above their own. That is an
admirable thing, and I cannot wait to experience the joys of parenting. I
believe, however, that this verse cannot be suspended when it comes to
parenting. As foreign and painful as it sounds, I believe that a parents job is
to pray that God would produce perseverence, character, and hope to grow in
their children, whatever the costs. I realize that I am not speaking out of
experience, and perhaps if parents read this, they may dismiss me as speaking
about things that I don't know. But I am trying to apply the meaning of this
verse to one of the most important and influential areas of life. And I pray
that when I get to that point in life, God will give me the strength to live by
this.
I am not, however, only speaking about parenting. This concept applies to everyone. Our aim in helping each other as fellow Christians is to stand by their side, praying that God would produce
perseverance, character, and hope in them. We rejoice with those who rejoice,
and mourn with those who mourn. But ultimately, we give glory to God in all
situations. And when we see our fellow Christians walking through struggles,
rather than comparing ourselves to them, being thankfully that we are not in
that situation, passing judgment on them, or even just feeling sorry for them,
we should instead see it as an opportunity for God's glory to shine through. As
is seen in John 9, in the healing of the man born blind, when Jesus' disciples
asked him whether the man's blindness resulted from his sin or his parents,
Jesus replied, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so
that the work of God might be displayed in his life" (v. 3). Our life is a
stage in which to put God's glory on display. This will look different in
different people's lives. But the end result is always the same--if our lives
show God's glory, show his ultimate provision and care, and shout out that He is
our creator and Lord, then our lives are counted a
success.
As Jared and I begin to step out into the future into a somewhat unsure situation, we can rest in this verse. Not to say that we are not planning, or that we are throwing all logic and thinking out the window,
but we realize that "The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes
his steps" (Proverbs 16:9). So it is not so much that we are making plans, but
we are seeking God's plan. For "Unless the LORD builds the house, those who
build it labor in vain" (Psalm 127:1). The question is not "will we succeed" or
"will we fail". For what is success or failure? The question is, is God
working in us perseverence, character, and hope? Will our life ultimately give
all the glory to God, not ourselves? These are the marks of a successful life.
Our success does not come from the amount of money we have, the size of our
house, or the prestige of our job. Our success comes when our lives are a
reflection of the glory of our great God.
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