Wednesday, September 08, 2010
The Cost.
Sometimes, different writers hit similar themes. John Piper:
Piper is right - being a good Christian generally involves a lot of suffering, but it is a means to the end and not the end itself, which is something we seem to forget, and something we neglect to point out when we discuss suffering. We are indeed told in scripture to embrace our suffering, but not for its own sake - because it leads to what we most desire, even if we do not know it.
Most really rich people are rich because they took a large risk. I think the same thing is true about our walk with Christ. The more we risk in terms of suffering endured and selflessness, the more reward we reap. But most people that build wealth do not focus on the loss, they focus on the reward.
That I think is the key to being a content Christian. When you suffer, do not focus on the suffering, but on what the suffering helps us to build.
Missing from most prosperity preaching is the fact that the New Testament emphasizes the necessity of suffering far more than it does the notion of material prosperity.Jon Bloom:
The difference is that the Buddha wants to be desire-less and completely absorbed into the impersonal cosmos. Jesus wants us to deeply desire and be completely enthralled with the Person in whom we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28).Let's connect some dots here. Is it possible that the suffering we are called to is experienced becasue of what we substitute as the object of our desire?
Piper is right - being a good Christian generally involves a lot of suffering, but it is a means to the end and not the end itself, which is something we seem to forget, and something we neglect to point out when we discuss suffering. We are indeed told in scripture to embrace our suffering, but not for its own sake - because it leads to what we most desire, even if we do not know it.
Most really rich people are rich because they took a large risk. I think the same thing is true about our walk with Christ. The more we risk in terms of suffering endured and selflessness, the more reward we reap. But most people that build wealth do not focus on the loss, they focus on the reward.
That I think is the key to being a content Christian. When you suffer, do not focus on the suffering, but on what the suffering helps us to build.
Technorati Tags:suffering, reward
Generated By Technorati Tag Generator
