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BUFFERING THROUGH SUFFERING (1)
'God ... made Jesus perfect by suffering' Hebrews 2:10
The Bible says, 'God ... made Jesus perfect by suffering.' Pain is a learning experience. A friend cheats on us, an illness steals our youth, a parent abandons us; none of us escapes. Even 'Jesus ... had to suffer before He could learn what it really means to obey God' (Heb. 5:8 CEV). Philip Yancey writes: 'God understood physical pain, having designed the nervous system that carries it to our brains ... But had a Spirit ever felt physical pain? Not until the Incarnation. In thirty-three years on earth Jesus learned about ... family squabbles ... social rejection ... verbal abuse and betrayal. And He learned too about pain.
What it feels like to have an accuser leave the red imprint of his fingers on your face...to have a crude iron spike pounded through muscle, tendon, and skin. On earth, God learned all that.' Jesus took His degree in suffering. A lone man abandoned by His friends, strung naked to a cross - at one point He even feels abandoned by God. Everything He has lived for is thrown out the universal window. And when we cry at the storm clouds, "God, where are you?" we know Jesus has been there too. But suffering doesn't have the last word. Resurrection is always the last word.
What now? Talk this one through with a friend (or the Word 4U 2Day facebook wall!) today: How does the sight of a crucified God help you (personally) face suffering ?
written by Bob Gass
'God ... made Jesus perfect by suffering' Hebrews 2:10
The Bible says, 'God ... made Jesus perfect by suffering.' Pain is a learning experience. A friend cheats on us, an illness steals our youth, a parent abandons us; none of us escapes. Even 'Jesus ... had to suffer before He could learn what it really means to obey God' (Heb. 5:8 CEV). Philip Yancey writes: 'God understood physical pain, having designed the nervous system that carries it to our brains ... But had a Spirit ever felt physical pain? Not until the Incarnation. In thirty-three years on earth Jesus learned about ... family squabbles ... social rejection ... verbal abuse and betrayal. And He learned too about pain.
What it feels like to have an accuser leave the red imprint of his fingers on your face...to have a crude iron spike pounded through muscle, tendon, and skin. On earth, God learned all that.' Jesus took His degree in suffering. A lone man abandoned by His friends, strung naked to a cross - at one point He even feels abandoned by God. Everything He has lived for is thrown out the universal window. And when we cry at the storm clouds, "God, where are you?" we know Jesus has been there too. But suffering doesn't have the last word. Resurrection is always the last word.
What now? Talk this one through with a friend (or the Word 4U 2Day facebook wall!) today: How does the sight of a crucified God help you (personally) face suffering ?
written by Bob Gass
