(P)I...
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(P)
I have often pondered what St. Paul meant by "rejoicing in our sufferings." I do not think he means we should be glad we had this or that experience of pain. I think he means we should learn to find something redemptive in even our worst experiences. We should teach ourselves to salvage what is useful out of the accidents of life. We should be instructed for the future by our past failures and temptations.
Into every life, I am convinced, come suffering, trials, and tribulations. In my own case, I wish I could have avoided the hurts that have come my way. I regret my mistakes. I certainly don't rejoice in them in the sense that I say "whoopee!" whenever I think of them. But I am glad for the insights, understanding, tolerance, and empathy that have been afforded me by the grace of God through these difficult experiences. I trust they have enabled me to "deal gently with the ignorant and wayward" having been myself "beset with weakness." I hope that, at least, they have made me a better husband to my wife, a better father to my children, and a better pastor to my people.
The author of Hebrews expressed the same hope about God in Christ. Because of the Incarnation (God became human), our God must certainly be able to "deal gently" with the "weakness" of "the ignorant and the wayward."
-- Campbell
I have often pondered what St. Paul meant by "rejoicing in our sufferings." I do not think he means we should be glad we had this or that experience of pain. I think he means we should learn to find something redemptive in even our worst experiences. We should teach ourselves to salvage what is useful out of the accidents of life. We should be instructed for the future by our past failures and temptations.
Into every life, I am convinced, come suffering, trials, and tribulations. In my own case, I wish I could have avoided the hurts that have come my way. I regret my mistakes. I certainly don't rejoice in them in the sense that I say "whoopee!" whenever I think of them. But I am glad for the insights, understanding, tolerance, and empathy that have been afforded me by the grace of God through these difficult experiences. I trust they have enabled me to "deal gently with the ignorant and wayward" having been myself "beset with weakness." I hope that, at least, they have made me a better husband to my wife, a better father to my children, and a better pastor to my people.
The author of Hebrews expressed the same hope about God in Christ. Because of the Incarnation (God became human), our God must certainly be able to "deal gently" with the "weakness" of "the ignorant and the wayward."
-- Campbell
