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- Apr 25, 2006
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2 March 2008
Word on the Web
John 17 v 24-26
"Father, I want these people that you gave me to be with me where I am. I want them to see my glory, which you gave me because you loved me before the world was made. Father, you are the One who is good. The world does not know you, but I know you, and these people know you sent me. I showed them what you are like, and I will show them again. Then they will have the same love that you have for me, and I will live in them."
The Last Supper is nearly ended: Jesus knows he is perhaps just an hour from betrayal and arrest, hours from an illegal trial and torture, less than 24 hours from crucifixion and death. Yet he talks (twice) about God's love for him! How do we cope with suffering, in ourselves, in loved ones, in the world? For some, suffering proves that an all-loving, all-powerful God does not exist. To others, it proves God is not all-powerful: his loving purpose is defeated by the misuse of human free-will, the devil's malevolence, or by nature's power. To others, it proves he is not all-loving: he has chosen some and rejected others, and punishes or abandons these. Jesus recoils from suffering but accepts it, believing that good can come out of it, even when it leads through agony to death. Before his suffering and throughout it he holds on, however tentatively, to his belief that God loves him. Suffering can destroy faith. Or, it can help you find depths of faith you never dreamt of. Which of these two will be true of you, when suffering and death come calling? The answer will depend on how securely you believe that God loves you, and that, as Paul wrote, "nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God" (Romans 8:39).
Dear God, I do not know the future. I do not know what suffering you will ask me to see or to bear. All I ask is that in it I find your love is stronger than death. In the name of Jesus who suffered and died without doubting your love, Amen.
Written by Richard Martin
Word on the Web
John 17 v 24-26
"Father, I want these people that you gave me to be with me where I am. I want them to see my glory, which you gave me because you loved me before the world was made. Father, you are the One who is good. The world does not know you, but I know you, and these people know you sent me. I showed them what you are like, and I will show them again. Then they will have the same love that you have for me, and I will live in them."
The Last Supper is nearly ended: Jesus knows he is perhaps just an hour from betrayal and arrest, hours from an illegal trial and torture, less than 24 hours from crucifixion and death. Yet he talks (twice) about God's love for him! How do we cope with suffering, in ourselves, in loved ones, in the world? For some, suffering proves that an all-loving, all-powerful God does not exist. To others, it proves God is not all-powerful: his loving purpose is defeated by the misuse of human free-will, the devil's malevolence, or by nature's power. To others, it proves he is not all-loving: he has chosen some and rejected others, and punishes or abandons these. Jesus recoils from suffering but accepts it, believing that good can come out of it, even when it leads through agony to death. Before his suffering and throughout it he holds on, however tentatively, to his belief that God loves him. Suffering can destroy faith. Or, it can help you find depths of faith you never dreamt of. Which of these two will be true of you, when suffering and death come calling? The answer will depend on how securely you believe that God loves you, and that, as Paul wrote, "nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God" (Romans 8:39).
Dear God, I do not know the future. I do not know what suffering you will ask me to see or to bear. All I ask is that in it I find your love is stronger than death. In the name of Jesus who suffered and died without doubting your love, Amen.
Written by Richard Martin
