[Bet you didn't think I'd ever write about hope, did you?] There's a blue post-it note on the inside cover of my Bible. I'm not really sure how it got there. I don't think I've ever owned blue, unlined post-its. The handwriting is mine, so it's a fair bet that I contributed to its creation and placement. I've become so used to seeing it that I've stopped seeing it; but I saw it again this morning. love that makes suffering more acute It's not even a full sentence, so I date this around 2012-- back when I first took linguistics and really reveled in the arbitrary nature of grammar. [And yes, of course my post about hope includes suffering. Surely you expected this?]
Lots of people have written about how more acute suffering indicates a more acute love. In that relationship, the suffering is an indication of love. In the line on my post-it, it is more clearly stated that it is the love that causes the suffering. I don't know what prompted me to put in my Bible, but I like that it's there. Being a Christian means living in a glorious love. We, by the grace of Christ, are able to live each day in the assurance of our salvation. Jesus was the propitiation for our sins--past tense. It is finished. We are reconciled. We are free to pursue God unhindered and work to restore right relationship between ourselves and the earth, and be peacemakers among others. We are free to choose something other than sin. This is true love, that the Lord gifts this to such creatures as us! And yet, there is an undeniable tension. Because the more in Love we are, the more pain we see. When I was not a Christian, it did not pain me to see others scorn God. It did not hurt me to see parents snipe at their children, and children mock their parents. I may have been saddened by world tragedies, but they did not cause my soul to cry out. I did not know what glory creation was meant for, so I did not care how far away it had fallen. The work of the Christian--rather, one particular work of the Christian--is to choose engaging in a love that makes suffering more acute. The hard part about this, for me, is that choosing to engage in this love often equates to choosing hope. If I am to choose Love, I am bound to abiding by Love's words. Which means I must accept Love's promise of a restored kingdom; I must believe in a new earth where every tribe, nation, and tongue worships together; I must trust that every child of God will be reconciled to Christ, that every heart God has chosen will ultimately turn to him. If I hope that these are true, then I must act as if they are true. Which means I must love others, knowing that many will reject me. I must preach the Gospel, knowing many will reject Christ. I must seek reconciliation between cultures, and feel the tangible pain each time a news story breaks . I must fully hope in Love in every way, knowing that this act will make suffering that much more acute. It's a hard call. It's one thing to work through some kind of trial, something we normally think of as "suffering". It's another to know that, because we've chosen to accept God's Love, His love in us causes us to feel brokenness more, feel suffering more. We feel the brokenness of our neighbors acutely, but resolutely go forward sharing Christ's love. We mourn with those who have lost, yet share the hope of God's promises. We suffer acutely with the world because we have been Loved on the cross, and hope in the final culmination of that Love in Christ's return. It is this love and this hope that causes us such pain, but the suffering is evidence that our eyes and hearts are being formed into ones like Christ's. I feel much suffering for the world lately. It is easier not to choose hope. It is easier to harden my heart, to give into cynicism, to expect less. But it is not possible to do this and remain in Love. To be in love is to hope for its triumph, and to feel the pain of the difference. Rachel Fruit and Labor
1 Comment
Mr. W
7/30/2016 04:17:37 pm
Amen!
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