Suffering for Love

1 Corinthians 13:13

13

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

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Are you homeless? Are you hungry? Thirsty? Are you ill or terminal? Are you alone and childless? Are you in mourning or divorced? Are you persecuted or living in fear?

When you are suffering, how can you show God you love him?

In our day, we have to look at what is important to God. To God, we are capable of carrying in our hearts and minds holiness that is the Holy Spirit. Like an empty vessel, we are to fill ourselves with unseen qualities of holiness. If we focus instead on our suffering, we are filled with meaningless thoughts and feelings that actually separate us from holiness. God wants to see that we can set ourselves aside, and that we can sincerely grasp and yearn for His righteousness. So how do we show God we love Him? By putting Him first.

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Job 2:6-10

6

The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.”

7

So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.

8

Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes.

9

His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!”

10

He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”

In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.

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Our lives have no real meaning. Our lives find purpose in truly setting our hearts, minds and souls on putting God first. And in order for this to happen, in most cases, what we have previously put between us and the Father is stripped away. This is the only way to test our sincerity before the heavens. Yes, God knows the heart of a man, but how great is it for God to witness our choices when they put Him above all.

So why then does suffering not end? God wants us to remain sincere. A child who starves his whole life remains pure from the ways of man. A homeless man who dies from exposure remains pure from the comforts that would separate him from God. We do not see these things, but God who knows what is set before us, knows what will keep us from Him. This understanding does not mean that we are not loved, it indicates we are loved beyond our own reasoning.

I would only add to this one thing. There are moments when each of us can show compassion or mercy. These moments are opportunities for us to be loving of others. Christ Jesus spoke many times about such things. Give freely what can be given, a glass of water, food, clothing, shelter. Because these acts are the seeds of hope for some, as much as they are acts of faith for others. Pray for everyone to be more loving.

But the understanding of putting the Father first, is the greatest of understandings. We all have different roles in the body of Christ. Every soul has challenges, every soul suffers to show they can put Him first. Some struggles are visible, some are not. It is not for us to change this, it is for us to embrace. Life is hard when you take God seriously. Love is selfless. Love is kind.