God loves his own.
He loves them so much that he would bring about the greatest
suffering upon them to bring them back to himself and to glory.
The centuries have
confirmed this noble truth in the life of many Christians. Jesus
himself was perfected through suffering. Through many heartaches did
our Lord enter into glory. And we should expect nothing less.
It is a rarity that
God should let a saint pass into eternal life without difficulty. It
is like looking for gold among sands. One must look for gold between
rocks or at the bottom of streams.
Many Christians
after passing through their valley of death say with that Blessed
apostle to whom suffering was a never ceasing companion that, 'For
we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of
life itself. Indeed,
we felt that we had received the sentence of death. '
O right now poor
Christian, does your heartache? Does your unbearable pain bring you
to that sorrowful conclusion that you have indeed received the
sentence of death! Do you right now wave a white flag above your head
and call for the sweet arms of death to take you to paradise? O
miserable child, I share your heartache, Paul shares your heartache,
David Brainered shares your heartache, the king of glory weeping at
Gethsemane shares your heartache; but we must persevere, for the
suffering apostle continues his words:
'But
that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the
dead.'
Ah,
the end of all our sufferings! To take us away from ourselves and
rely on God. The weeping Christ relied on God, the suffering apostle
relied on God. Now it is your turn to follow in such faithful steps.
God
loves his own. He loves them dearly that he would not let them enter
hell in their pleasures but heaven in their misery.
The
converted soul looks upon the agony of his heart, yea when reflecting
on the many lashes on his soul, that it was God meaning all
thirty-nine lashes as discipline of love.
O,
has a person broken your heart or have you been the instrument of
breaking another's heart? God uses both means to bring his own back
to himself. In the latter we see ourselves as depraved sinners as
the bible affirms that we are and we look for sweet mercy from the
christ who was crucified. And in the latter we confess that all we
have is Christ and his merit to gain; that we are in ourselves
unworthy deserving the worst but sweet kindness has comforted us with
the sweetest of comforts in the blessed Holy Trinity.
God
loves his own. Through many pains and heartache, he brings them home.
K.Oni