Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Felix Culpa

Home
Evangelical
A Different Perspective on Suffering

A Different Perspective on Suffering

Last updated on: April 5, 2016 at 9:16 pm by

A Different Perspective on Suffering 2016-04-05T21:16:00-07:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

On the deck of Piny Point Lighthouse, Maryland

But if impatient, thou let slip thy cross,
Thou wilt not find it in this world again,
Nor in another; here, and here alone,
Is given thee to suffer for God’s sake.
In other worlds, we shall more perfectly
Serve Him and love Him, praise Him, work for Him,
Grow near and nearer Him with all delight;
But then we shall not any more be called
To suffer, which is our appointment here.
Canst thou not suffer then one hour, — or two? ~Ugo Bassi

Human nature is to try and “slip our cross.” We avoid suffering at all costs, and perhaps on some level, we should. As far as I can tell, the Word never calls us to seek suffering. But suffering often seeks us – and finds. So the question then becomes, what do we do with it?

What did Jesus do with it?

First, he asked for it to be removed from him. “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me …” (Luke 22:42)

But the answer was no, and the cup remained. And so, Jesus lived out the second part of that verse: “Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours.”

Suffering was the very reason he came to earth. If he had somehow been excused from that divine appointment, you and I would be in deep trouble. He would have left this earth without providing a way for us to escape eternal suffering and damnation. I cannot imagine my life without what happened on Calvary, and I am overjoyed that Christ obeyed the Father and accepted his lot of suffering, even to the point of death.

But why am I not overjoyed at my own suffering? When I get to “other worlds”, my chance to suffer will be -poof!- gone. All I can do once I’m in Heaven is serve, love, praise, and work for him. I can no longer suffer with him or for him.

That is cause to rejoice, but it is also cause to accept, with gladness, the lot I’ve been given. And yet, all the time, I wiggle this way and that, doing my best to escape from even the lightest cross. If I’m cold, I buy wool socks and a vehicle with seat warmers. If I’m hot, I crank up the AC. And then there are the heavy crosses. Like this ongoing, incurable illness. If it’s not me looking for a way of escape from such heavy suffering, it’s someone else. One of my doctors will order blood work, and the results will come back bad, because they always do, and again, remedial measures are explored.

The message is: let’s get rid of this danged suffering.

Where John Wilkes Booth suffered with a broken leg

I appreciate the effort, really. But I’ve been at chronic illness long enough to know that a cure is out there, not here. The cure lies in the other world – the world where the appointment book for suffering has been destroyed, once and for all.

Too often, though I’ve accepted my health problems as incurable, I still think in terms of why, why me, why now, why this way, why everything? I look at healthy women my age and ask why not like her, why not me, why not now, why can’t I? I don’t look in the mirror and say, “Canst thou not suffer one more hour, — or two?”

First of all, who uses words like canst and thou? 🙂 Second of all, who looks suffering in the face and with a smile, says, “Bring it!”

Small is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to that kind of life. Still … that is the gate I’m called to walk through. Though the road be narrow, and though there be few who find the Way, the fact is, I’m one of the called. Before the foundations of the earth, I was called to be his. And if I’m called to be his, then I’m also called to suffer.

I have one life to live. One life to share in his sufferings. That life is made up of a multitude of hours, but I only have to take one hour at a time. So with Paul, I have and will continue to ask for the thorn to be removed. But because the answer keeps coming back as “no”, I will attempt to look at things differently. I’ll do my best to be patient – to accept, not slip, my cross – and instead ask myself:

Could you suffer one more hour?

And when that hour seems impossible, I will ask myself:

Could you suffer one more minute?

And the answer will always be:

His grace is sufficient. With God’s help, I can.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

March 30, 2016

When Your Husband Trusts You with His Tools

Next Post

April 27, 2016 Learning to Pray for My Little People

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 May 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which Christian denomination is known for the "Book of Common Prayer"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Lutheran Baptist Anglican Presbyterian