In the opening trailer to the Tom Hanks movie, Castaway, he is training a crew of FedEx employees in Russia on the critical importance of “We live or die by the clock!” Time is the critical, common enemy at FedEx, but this human construct drives most industrial nations as well, no matter what your occupation.
After his FedEx plane crashed in the ocean during a
tropical storm, the castaway endured countless days of using his wits to
survive on a deserted island. There are
no clocks or calendars to mark the time when someone is suffering many
hardships and fighting for their life.
Pastor Ray Firestone was the minister in Kansas that
married Karen and I in 1968. His wife
was killed at a railroad crossing and he came out of retirement to assist
Adam Hamilton as Church of the Resurrection grew to today’s 20,000
membership with five satellite locations.
It’s not only important to embrace a spiritual faith in this life, but
to also question it. One of the most
asked is “How can a loving God allow all the suffering in the world and what is
he doing about it?” One answer is that he
created you and me. Adam recently shared
sage thoughts that Pastor Firestone passed along regarding suffering in this
life:
“Suffering is not
God’s desire for us, but it occurs in the process of life. Suffering is not
given to teach us something, but through it we may learn. Suffering is not given
to teach others something, but through it they may learn. Suffering is not
given to punish us, but sometimes it is the consequence of our sin or poor
judgment. Suffering does not occur because our faith is weak, but through it
our faith may be strengthened. God does not depend on human suffering to
achieve his purposes, but sometimes through suffering his purposes are
achieved. Suffering can either destroy us, or it can add meaning to our life.”
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