Perhaps Our suffering In It Keeps Us From Clinging To It!

I saw a picture on the back of a woman’s phone while at church. I was so mesmerized by it, I drew out what I saw on the back of a ministry card that I keep in my wallet. 

I am mesmerized by it because the three stick figures represent my life: I ran away from God’s perfect plan, repented and believed in the Lord Jesus. The imagery is so simple and yet it is so profound. I am not an artist but I can quickly doddle this symbolic message of life on the back of a card. 

In addition to the three stick figures, there are three circles: The first circle represents God’s perfect plan for life. The second circle represents the broken world that we now live in and the wavy arrows represent out attempts to escape this broken world. The third circle represents the gospel of God: the eternal Son of God descended and entered this broken world becoming one of us; He died a death that He did not deserve; He rose from the dead, ascending to the righthand of God; all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to the Lord Jesus Christ. 

The first man ran away from God. The second man comes to God broken with a contrite heart. The third man believes in the Lord Jesus Christ, goes forth rejoicing because he has assurance of being in the paradise of God with the Son of God.

This simple picture on the back of a woman’s phone preaches to me more than anything that I have heard in recent memory. I am redeemed from death and eternal punishment but I am presently in a broken world. Nothing is easy here and life on this side of glory is very difficult, during the past year:

• My mother in-law (my wife’s mother) died.
• I was sick causing us to be estranged from family during Christmas.
• Our daughter came out of the closet as a gay person and entered into a civil union with another girl.
• Our son lives estranged from us, God and the church.
• Our nephew just a few years older than our son unexpectedly died.
• My mother has been having dizzy spells and I do not know what to do for her.
• A former nursing colleague whom I considered to be a friend and brother was convicted of murder.

I could go on and on listing more like these but I will stop with these seven. I do not understand rejecting God because of the bad things that happen to us in this broken world. The Bible promises trials, tribulations and persecutions to go on until the coming age of the Kingdom of God. In John 12:25 Jesus said something to his disciples that I think is very profound, especially in this modern, or should I say post-modern world but I never hear mentioned. 

He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. 

Why does God allow his people to suffer? Perhaps our suffering in it keeps us from clinging to it!