Jesus did not tell his followers to take up a feather and follow him. He did not tell them to take up a scepter or a sword, a flag of surrender or a trophy of triumph. Rather, he told them to take up a cross, to shoulder a rough and heavy burden that was synonymous with pain. It should be no surprise, then, that his followers’ path to glory is paved with much sorrow and much suffering. He told us it would be.
As we make our pilgrimage from our many cities of destruction to our one great home in heaven, we endure much pain and much grief. The path is strewn with thorns and the winds sometimes blow strong and cold. The road is narrow and perilous, often rough underfoot and steeply inclined. But if we are in Christ, we have the assurance that none of the struggles along the way are meaningless, that none of the trials are wasted and none of them unseen by God.
And truly the trials are many. We experience physical pain that leaves us helpless, that knocks us off our feet, that makes us cry out in agony. We experience
To continue...read the full-length post originally published on this site.
