Today's message at church was about encountering God in our suffering. The fact that it's not if we will encounter pain in our lives, but when. The fact that Jesus says "in this world you will have trouble" and the truth that he will not leave us in our trouble but will rather be with us.
The message was excellent as it addressed a helpful response when suffering comes to us.
What if, though, we are not to wait until suffering comes knocking at our door? What if the passages of Scripture that talk about "sharing in his sufferings" actually mean that we are to go find suffering and join with it? The knowledge that pain will inevitably be a part of our human experience is good knowledge to have, but it can still leave us as "fortress people." Fortress people are those who build up walls of fear and try to keep pain and suffering on the outside. But what if being partners in God's redemptive work in the world means that we need to risk stepping outside of this fortress that gives us the illusion of control and safety? What if in the spiritual realm, the safer place (because it is God's will) is to be outside of the walls pursuing the suffering world and sharing in it with the love and hope of Christ?
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