Wednesday, March 30, 2016

suffering and comfort


"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort."
~ 2 Corinthians 1:3-7

We know we have the 'golden chain of redemption' as we call it in Romans 8; here in 2 Corinthians, if you will allow, it appears to be the 'silver chain of suffering'. The order appears to be that if you belong to Christ, you share in His sufferings, but you also share in His comforts. And by sharing in both His sufferings and comforts, you are able to share in the sufferings and comforts of others and they in turn, share in the sufferings and comforts of those around them and so on and so forth. In the kingdom of Christ, no suffering and comfort is an island, to mangle a phrase.

We suffer for the sake of Christ so that we may also be comforted for the sake of Christ and His body. As Christians, to know suffering is to know Christ and to be given the Father's comfort is a gift that is intended to allow us to be a comfort to those around us.
It's a gift that no one asks for, but everyone needs. To be able to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice. To smile through the tears, to know that a broken heart is a heart that can be shared. My heart breaks for you is what we say when we feel pain for the suffering of another.
And while comfort that is good, true and beautiful comes in many forms, it all comes from the same Father who knows what suffering is and is the source of all true comfort.

I'm not saying this very well, but take comfort that our suffering, whether it is known or unknown by anyone else, it is known to God our Father and is given so we can be comforted by Him and in turn, that we might be able to give comfort to those suffering around us.

And in the words of Paul, throughout his epistles, I echo, that in my prayers, I remember you.

2 comments:

  1. My favourite verses! Well said my dear sister.

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