The invitation to rejoice in suffering sounds like a huge contradiction. Who in his or her right mind would smile instead of grimace at pain? Takes a little craziness, but when we read that Peter and the Apostles, just fresh from being flogged and ordered not to speak anymore about Jesus, "left the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name" (Acts 5:41), we realize that their "craziness" and joy came from their love of Jesus and their identification with him in his suffering. We are challenged to do he same: "If they can do it, so can I." This attitude gave them the freedom to disobey the order and to keep on teaching and proclaiming Jesus. What guts! Eventually all, except John, gave their lives for Jesus and inspired hundreds, thousands of others through the ages to do the same. Can they inspire us today to smile at our stress, our disappointment, our back,shoulder or knee pain,? Jesus, help me with the courage, freedom and "craziness" I need to rejoice in my daily pain, and be an inspiration to others as your Apostles are to me.
Bro. Rene
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment