Thursday, September 1, 2022

SUFFERING

CASTAWAY

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.”

Adam was reminded of Jesus’ words, “’In this world you will have trouble…but take heart! I have overcome the world’.  Our faith compels us not to throw up our hands and give up, but to roll up our sleeves and get to work embodying love and acting as instruments of healing and hope.” 

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