In Sunday's sermon, Bill reminded us that we need to go THROUGH hardship, not AROUND it -- at least if we're going to grow as disciples of Jesus. I had several thoughts in response to the message that I thought would be worth sharing.
- I wonder if I'll ever get to the point where I no longer try to squirm away from hardship, but am willing to endure it. I feel like nearly everything God puts in my path that yields transformation is stuff I try to get out of or avoid at all costs. And, as Bill said on Sunday, it still catches me by surprise. It comes up and my first thought is, "What in the world is going on?"
- "In this world we will have trouble." These words from Jesus remind me that there is no way around hardship in the world we live in. It's just part of what it means to live in a sinful world. No matter how hard I try to squirm away, trouble will find me.
- In addition to the kind of hardship that happens as a result of our living on this planet, there is the kind of hardship that Paul endured. It wasn't simply that the normal difficulties came his way . . . he actually created hardship for himself because he followed Jesus. It seems to me, then, there are two types of hardship. The kind that happens and will find us simply because we are human beings living in a broken world and the kind that happens because we are committed followers of Christ. I feel like there is very little of the second type of hardship I have had to endure.
- I am asking myself what walls currently exist in my life that I need to go through rather than around. I am also asking the Lord what it looks like to suffer BECAUSE I'm following him. I feel like some thoughts have come to me in regards to this second point of prayer -- if you're interested, you can e-mail me to ask: jason.brown@erc.la.
What are your thoughts -- on the sermon or the blog?
Posted on
Mon, December 1, 2008
by Jason Brown