Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. (Romans 5:3-4)
This is not meant to be
in any way political. It’s just something that was said recently that ties in
with my thoughts. Recently, a political candidate claimed that she grew up in a
middle-class household. Forget about who said it. Think about what she said. I’m
reading a biography of Frederick Douglass, whose speeches as an abolitionist
centered around his having grown up a slave, then becoming a fugitive
(effectively a criminal.)
Think about popular
stories: a boy whose aunt and uncle make him sleep under the stairs, a girl who
grows up in a society in which randomly chosen children are sent from prison
camps to colosseums to fight for their lives, a guy who takes to robbing from
rich to give to the poor, boy meets girl and after all their struggles they
live happily ever after, a young man takes on the empire, a young man takes on this, a young man takes on that, a hobbit takes a
ring to a volcano to destroy it, a guy lives the same day over and over…
No matter what the story
is, the story is about the suffering that produces perseverance, that produces
the good results and allows for hope. Would you be interested in a story about
some attractive, rich, talented genius for whom everything always went right? It
may sound strange to glory in our struggles, but when you listen to someone
talk about their life (even you) you’re likely to hear something that sounds a
lot like glorying in struggles. All they/you talk about is how they/you are struggling.
But Scripture doesn’t tell
us simply to glory in our struggles. We’re to glory in them because we know
they will produce good character traits or strengthen us. As we go through
them, then, it’s not that things will turn out OK. It’s that we will.
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