The Church at Smyrna
Tom Shrader examines Jesus's letter to the suffering church at Smyrna in Revelation 2:8-11, highlighting how believers can endure persecution and hardship with faith. He emphasizes that Jesus as 'the first and the last' who 'was dead and came to life' offers a sympathetic understanding of suffering, and calls Christians to remain faithful even unto death for the promise of eternal reward.
“You really don't understand Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have.”
— Tom Shrader
Series: What Christ Says to the Church (Revelations)
Recorded: 2004
Duration: 40 min
Themes: suffering, persecution, faithfulness, endurance, death, resurrection, reward, hope, facing persecution, experiencing hardship, struggling with fear, new believer, church member, pastor, suffering illness, feeling discouraged
Scripture: Revelation 2:8-11, 1 Corinthians 1:26, 2 Corinthians 4, Psalm 46:10, Psalm 23, Acts 13, Acts 14:2, Acts 14:5, Acts 14:19, Acts 17
Theological Themes: christology, nature of christ, eternal life, martyrdom, eschatology, future hope, spiritual warfare, resurrection power
Full Transcript
We're in week two of what will be a seven-week series that came about by asking: how would Jesus look at us today? What would He have to say to us today? We were talking about the church on a corporate basis, and at the same time I was doing a variety of reading and came across an article that John Stott had written about the seven churches in the book of Revelation. He made a point that connected for me: each of those churches represents or has a dominant characteristic of a type of church for all time.
I don't know if that makes sense, but in each of these seven churches that Jesus speaks to, there was generally speaking an issue, or they were a type of church. So last week we looked at the church at Ephesus—they had lost their first love. I deduced from this that churches are made up of people, therefore these are seven types of Christians. I'm likely to fit into one of these categories more than others, but I might have traits of all of them.
I said last week—and no one took exception, either because it's not worth arguing about, or it's not even worth the discussion, or it was exactly right, which I assume is the case—that the better the Bible teaching church, the more tendency there is to fit in a category like the church at Ephesus. Remember, they were hard-working, discerning, persevering—lots of activity. They were solid in orthodoxy, but they had lost their heart. They had forgotten their first love.
We said that the book of Revelation begins in chapter 1, verse 1: "the revelation of Jesus." I wrote this: it's a revelation from Jesus about Jesus. Revelation means unveil, disclose, uncover. So the challenge for us is simple—it's to take these seven weeks and to be very judgmental of ourselves, to look and see which one of these characteristics fit us and what does Jesus have to say about us.
The Setting and Seven Churches
Remember, John is on the island of Patmos. We gave you a map last week—it's just off of what would be modern-day Turkey. He's exiled to this island. He's about 95 years old and he writes back to seven actual churches that form kind of an oval, beginning with Ephesus and moving geographically north 35 miles to Smyrna. Then Pergamon, then they head southeast to Thyatira, south to Sardis, southeast to Philadelphia, and then lastly Laodicea.
So we look today at Revelation chapter 2, verse 8—the shortest of these letters. Let's read it, and then come back. Let me remind you, for those of you that love this kind of stuff, this is perfect. There's a general pattern where Jesus identifies the recipient, then a strength, then a weakness, then an action to take generally to counterbalance the weakness, and then a promise.
Now I said that's a general outline. Today is an exception—there's no weakness mentioned. There's the recipient and a strength, and then an action and a promise. So here you go, verse 8:
"And to the angel of the church at Smyrna write: These things says the first and the last, who was dead and came to life: I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich); and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death."
Understanding the Message
The recipient of this is the angel. Remember what we said last time—the angel meant messenger, in our case the teaching elders. So when you came in today, I said we're going to go to Revelation chapter 2. Your Bibles open, or your iPads click, or your phones, your electronic device. In that day, it wouldn't happen. We wouldn't say "open to Revelation 2." The angel would have the only copy—the messenger—and he would read it.
Let me give you a little bit about Smyrna. It's kind of like Ephesus—it was called "the crown of Asia." It was founded in 1000 BC, plus or minus. It was the safest of the harbors, like Ephesus. Remember from last week, it was a free city, which meant it was overseen by Rome but not occupied by Rome, so there was a great deal of freedom there. There was an influential Jewish population that becomes really important.
It was apparently this magnificent city, and Alexander the Great was determined to make this the first mega planned community—Silver Leaf on steroids, that would be his plan. If you went to Smyrna, you'd find this magnificent library, one of the largest theaters in the world at that time. It was the home of Homer, who wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey.
It had one design problem—maybe perhaps government design inefficiency. It had a prominent west wind that moved through the city, and it was this beautiful, comforting breeze. But when they designed the city, they designed the sewage that flowed out, and the prominent west wind brought the remnants of the sewage back into the city. So it was this magnificent, strategic place, but the Jewish population rose up against these Christians. So what Jesus writes about is primarily suffering.
Jesus Identifies Himself
In each of these cities, Jesus identifies Himself in a different way, and He starts with this. You see the second part of verse 8: "These things says the first and the last, who was dead and came to life." First and the last—Alpha and Omega, His control, His sovereignty. It seems to me whenever we talk about suffering, we almost immediately go to the sovereignty of God.
I'm listening to a guy talk the other day, and he had this great line, and it'll come in really handy in an election year. Here you go—this is one you're going to want to write down: God is in control of who's in control. God is in control. Doesn't make us robots, but He reminds us with that. He's going to talk about "I know."
A Sympathetic Savior Who Knows Our Suffering
You're suffering. I know what's coming. I know what you're experiencing, and I didn't blink and I didn't get distracted with something that was going on in the other side of the world. I know the population continues to explode, and the fact that it explodes doesn't mean that I've exhausted my capacity to manage this. I'm God, and Jesus, and I was dead and came to life.
Now in verse 9 He says, "I know your works and your tribulation and your poverty." There's one thing that I want to know when somebody's talking to me that is great comfort: that I have a sympathetic person that's listening to me, somebody that can relate.
When I started teaching, I never heard "you're a good teacher." Never heard that. What I heard from people was, "You've been where I am. You get it. You've had a deal blow. You've had a deal make. You've had somebody take advantage of you." I connect. When we talk, I'm not looking for the guy that can parse all the Greek. That's great. But that you have felt what I felt brings a real confidence to it.
The Power of Shared Experience
When you can sit down with somebody and you can say, as you listen to them, "Hey, I've been there, done that"—not in a dismissive way, but "I know how that feels"—you have a whole different relationship. People really care when they know you care.
Some of the great tragedies that's creeping into the church is that I'll sit and I'll listen to these guys talk, and they'll say, "This job would be great if it wasn't for the what? People." Well, your job is the people. Like a mailman saying it would be a great job if I didn't have to walk, if it wasn't for the mail.
If you can connect—and I think it's my own assessment of myself, and self-awareness is hard—but I think the last four years, for me, has been a real softening process. As the more I hurt and the more life I experience, the more I haven't understood, I look back and go, "Gosh, I screwed 20 years of this stuff up with missing this."
Learning Empathy Through Life Experience
I'm in a new kind of physical therapy thing, and I'm really liking it. I'm waiting to go in to see my gal yesterday, and there's two ladies—and I don't even know what to say anymore. She's about 35, and that's not a girl, but a lady, whatever. So I'm talking to her, Kim. She's got more energy and perky, and so, "How are you today?" I said, "Well, I'm great. I hear it's your anniversary." I said, "Yeah." She said, "Oh, what are you going to do?" I said, "We're going out for dinner."
"Where are you going?" I said, "We're going to eat steak." "Do you know where you're going?" I said, "Yeah, we're going to—this will mean nothing to you all, because you're up here—but we're in Chandler. We're going to DC Steakhouse, if you've been down there." She said, "Oh my gosh, that's really good." She's got a little accent. I said, "Where are you from?" "Wisconsin." I knew it. So she knows steak.
She said, "I've eaten there." I said, "Well, I was at Durant's the other day." She didn't know Durant's. So if you're new to town in the East Valley, you don't know Durant's. I said, "Durant's Sunday at 4? It gets no better. There's nobody there. The ghost of John Harvey Adamson is walking through the place. It's a joint, there's nothing like the joint. Same bartender, it's perfect. I love that one."
Finding Purpose in Caring for Others
So we're talking, and I said, "So Kim, how long you been doing this?" She said—I said, "What do you do? Are you done?" She said, "I'm done in four minutes." I said, "What are you going to do?" She said, "So I teach aquatic aerobics." She said, "I just love old people." It's kind of like that person that says, "I love to work with kids."
She said, "I just—I looked around, and I saw my uncle, and I was in college. I saw that kind of when you get to be 50, the culture really dismisses you," which lines up with my personal experience. She said, "There's all this—I work with people between ages of 50 and 100." But I didn't ask her, "Where do you think I am on that spectrum?" There's a guy in there, and I'm just killing this guy on the treadmill. Then I find out he's 84, so I took some of the fun out of it. He's had eight heart attacks and blah, blah, blah.
But there was that empathy that comes. She said, "The longer I'm in the field, the more I love the field." Well, that's what Jesus is saying here. "I know your work. I know your tribulation."
Understanding Tribulation and Pressure
That word tribulation means crushing beneath a weight. It's constant pressure. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4, "We're perplexed, but not crushed. We're surrounded." One of the things that you have—again, the phrase I wrote—is a sympathetic Savior. Jesus says, "I know what that feels like. I was in that garden saying, 'If there's another way, let's do it.'"
I think sometimes I reread the passion and the crucifixion from just a human perspective. Because I had, in my own stereotypical mind, kind of go, "Well, He's God." I got that this would be hard for me, but He's God. But He's fully man. He's saying the night before, "I get what's coming. I'm not sure the depth, if He understood the specifics or not." He knew He had to suffer and die. He said, "Is there another way? Let's do it."
The Reality of Ongoing Suffering
So some of you, especially as you get into our age group, as you get older, there's a suffering that's just all around you. Relational suffering, the weight of the world, the physical suffering, kids who are now living their life.
My daughter called me this morning at 6:29, and I didn't know that Sarah had called. She doesn't typically call to say hello, and she knows I'm downtown. So my mind is immediately going, "There must be something wrong." I called her back, and she didn't answer. That's kind of weird. It's probably nothing, but my mind goes to something. So even as I talk to you, in my heart, I'm going, "Well, I need to talk to Sarah to figure out what's that kind of thing."
The suffering part just keeps coming at you. When it comes, one of the most natural things to ask is, "Why? Why me?" And again, I go to Jesus.
Jesus on the cross said, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?" I don't think it's doubting. I think there can be that bitter anger, but I want to try to get this in a box, and I want to try to understand it. I can't always get there.
But Jesus says, "Listen, I got the tribulation. I have the poverty." There are two words in the Greek that could be used for poverty. One is to eke out a living.
Two Types of Poverty
I don't know how many years ago, I was at Cannon Beach. It was the middle of afternoon, and there was a ball game I wanted to see. We teach and stay at the Christian Conference Center and no TV. So in town, there are some restaurants, but there's a bar called the Driftwood that's like, you come in, and it's like an old—like going to Davenport back in time. You come in, and you go through these doors to the right, and there's this restaurant where they bring you a tray of celery, and carrots, and radishes, and all of that, and some bread. Then there's a bar. The bar is like a good bar. I know they'll have the game on. There's just nothing like being in a bar watching a game, really. There's just something.
So I'm by myself, and the gal's checking out. She had already worked whatever her shift was. I said, "Are you done for the day?" She said, "Oh, no, no, no, no. I work in an after school program. I take care of kids from, I don't know, whatever it is, 3:30 till the parents pick them up." I said, "Wow, you're working two jobs." She said, "No, no, no, no. I clean houses, too." Here's this gal working three jobs and paying her bills, but barely getting by, doesn't own a house, rents a room. We might use a term in our culture like working poor. I don't know that that's a term. But eking out a living. That's one word that could be translated poverty. That's not the word He uses.
The second word is you don't have anything at all. You're totally dependent upon somebody else to meet your needs. It's not that you're lazy. It's not that you're not qualified. It's not that you're not intelligent. You're a beggar. Not in the sense of we think of beggars, "Hey, you got any spare change?" It's the idea that Jesus uses in the Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are the poor in spirit." I'm so poor that I'm not even going to make eye contact with you. I'm totally dependent upon you taking care of me. That's the word He uses.
The Church and the Poor
I know that there's tribulation. I know there's poverty. The church has historically been filled with people that the world kind of looks down on. Remember 1 Corinthians 1, verse 26: "Consider your calling, brethren. There are not many who are wise according to the flesh. Not many mighty. Not many noble." There aren't many that the world would go, "Wow, they're really something." Not a lot of PhDs running around church. Some, kind of. Not a lot of connected people. Some, not many. Not a lot of powerful people. We'll start seeing them in September for about two months. But not many connected people, because if I'm powerful, connected, got stuff—we even coined the term, "self-made man or woman"—I don't need God.
Rereading some of Corrie Ten Boom, a wonderful story, and it's so simplistic that it could be dismissed. Just her stories of how God provides. If you want a quick read and a simple read, *The Hiding Place*, *Tramp for the Lord*, that's an amazing book, easy read. Just story after story. Your flinch will be to go, "Wow, and isn't it cool God did that?" And yes it is, but He'll do similar things for you. But she's the weakest of the weak, and she just reminds that, and she's got that wonderful line: "You really don't understand Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have."
We got a song we sing in church, "Jesus, You're All I Need." I'm reading these words, and I'm singing them, and I'm thinking, "I don't know if I—I know it's true, but I don't know if I live this way." But when you're just done, when you got nothing, you're really coachable.
The Source of Persecution
He says, "I know this, I know the slander, I know the blasphemy." Now the blasphemy is coming primarily from that group of Jews. In shifting gears, Paul would really get this, but it fits the pattern. Paul was one of these Jews who was a zealot who persecuted the early church. Then on that Damascus road, God saves him. What's fascinating is that Paul doesn't change personalities, he just changes jerseys. He's now a zealot for the faith he was persecuting. The persecution came to him, like it did to these people at Smyrna, from these Jews.
Just to note it, in Acts chapter 13, "The Jews aroused the devout women of prominence and leading men of the city and instigated persecution against Paul and Barnabas." That was Antioch, drove them out of the district. Few verses later, "The Jews who disbelieved stirred up the minds of the Gentiles and embittered them against the brethren." That's Iconium. That's Acts 14:2. 14:5, an attempt is made by the Gentiles and the Jews and the rulers to mistreat these believers. Acts 14:19, the Jews from Antioch and Iconium now come to Lystra. They overwhelmed the multitudes, they stoned Paul and they thought he was dead. They took him out of the town. By Acts 17, these Jews have now become jealous and they are taking away some of the wicked men from the marketplace and they form a mob and they come now at Thessalonica and they're seeking Paul again. So He's saying, "I get this. This is what they're experiencing."
Modern Persecution Concerns
It's interesting now among church leaders that I talk to and you can pick it up in the media. There's this persecution they feel that's gonna come to the church that you aren't gonna be able to talk about the scripture without offensive language. I'm watching a discussion the other night on transgender stuff. My hesitancy in bringing this in here is that you'll turn it into a political discussion. I don't want to do that. I've got a bigger point here. But I think all the—
I can't imagine my dad coming and saying, "I gotta go to the bathroom. I don't know which one I fit in." I can't imagine that. But again, that's a cheap laugh. But this guy is making a point. This is the discussion. You know, it's a boy or girl. And the other guy said, "How do you know if you're a boy or girl?" And the guy said, "Well, it's kind of obvious. They determined it right after you were born." And the guy said, "But no, no, no, no. That doesn't deal with gender. My gender varies based on my preference."
I don't want to get into this. But this discussion that they had wasn't going to last another five seconds because they couldn't even agree on definition. I mean, two plus two is four. We have general agreement on that. But if somebody said, "Well, you know, in our culture, when we do math with an addition equation, the value of two is actually accelerated to three. So really in our culture, two plus two is six." We can't even have a discussion.
The Importance of Truth and Authority
What Paul is dealing with here is in the cities He's going to, what Jesus is talking about is here's the truth. Here's the authority. I'm speaking this week at a coaches conference this weekend. And I have the Bible part. The first night for me is to establish the Bible as the final authority and what is a Christian because everything else flows out of that.
So the Jews are coming and they're bringing charges against them. And the accusations are false. They're saying they're cannibals because they eat the body and blood of Christ. They break up families. They're really atheists because they don't have any statues or candles. They're politically disloyal. They're inciting rebellion. So here's all this stuff coming at them.
Standing on Unchanging Truth
In our world, I'm trying to, I'm hanging out there with about three thoughts going. Let me try to fuse them here. In this world where everything feels like it's moving under our feet, we've got the truth in this word. And I need to know that.
So the guys, when I'm sitting in these meetings, they're going persecution's really going to come. The country's really going to come. The government's really going to come. And we're going to lose taxes. They go on and on and on and on and on about stuff. I'm going, let's eat. This is, I mean, I can't fix it. I can't solve it. I can't stop it.
Here's what I know. He's the first and the last. He has it under control. God's in control of who's in control. And that's not just wishful thinking. There's nothing naive about this.
God's Honest Assessment of Coming Suffering
He says, look at verse 10. "Do not fear any of those things which you're about to suffer." This is coming, not whistling through the graveyard. "And the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested. You'll have tribulation, 10 days." I don't think it's an actual 10 days. It's a picture of, there's going to be a brief, finite time of suffering and pain and attack.
I got an email a week ago, Wednesday, asking me if I could teach the next Sunday at a church that I'd never been to. The pastor's in the Philippines. So if they're texting me on Wednesday for the next Sunday, and He's in Philippines, here's what I know. I'm not their first choice. I know that. They've been through some guys.
So I said, "Sure, I'd love it. Do a one-off." And I said, "Okay. Meaning, do whatever you want to do." So when I got there, I'm talking to one of the guys, and I said, "Hey, I got the feeling that I probably wasn't the first choice." He said, "No, we had four guys ahead of you. Two of them committed and then just had to cancel." So I said, "Well, you know, you weren't my first choice, either." I mean, what am I going to say?
The Finite Nature of Suffering
But I'd never been in this church. So the beauty was, everything I said was new and fresh. So I said to them, what I would say to you all the time, because I ended up doing the first chapter of 1 Thessalonians, which I got into a couple weeks ago and breaking apart, and I liked it. We're talking about suffering. So I said to them, and they thought this was really good, but you won't, because you've heard it a million times, is no matter how bad it gets, it can only last a lifetime.
And that's not meant, although that we smile, it's a little bit of sugar, helps the medicine go down, is it doesn't mean I'm not going to suffer. It means there's a finiteness to it, that my last breath on earth is my first breath in heaven. It doesn't take this suffering and minimize it. He said, "No, no, you're going to get this, but here's what I want you to do. Be faithful. Hang tough." Why? "Blessed is the man who endures, for when He's been approved, He'll receive a crown of life."
The Crown of Life vs Earthly Rewards
We're coming into the Olympic time, when people have been training and training and training, and I'm kind of watching Michael Phelps stuff training, and He's swimming five or six hours a day. I can't imagine. I don't know how you would flip your brain and just look at the bottom of the pool for five or six hours a day. The only good thing is, you've got to eat about 5,000 calories to keep your weight up. That's the only good thing. But He's doing this to get a gold medal. He's already the most decorated Olympian in history, but to get more.
I'm not in any way minimizing it. I'm just saying, let's put this in perspective. I remember Charlie Hickox. Some of you remember Charlie. Charlie won three golds and a silver in 1968. I remember one day saying to Charlie, "Where are your medals?" He said, "You know, I don't know."
If I had a gold medal, I'd be wearing it right now. I'd never take it off. You would know. I'd set it right here. Well, He said, you do this to get a crown of life. "To be absent in the body is to be present with the Lord."
Sources of Suffering
Well, how do I deal with all of that? Well, I understand that this suffering is coming here. So I'm going to give you some sources of suffering and how to respond to it. So suffering comes from, you see in this passage, from Satan or the demons. "Our war is not against flesh and blood."
blood. From ungodly people. Your hardship comes from people who hurt you, do difficult things, sinful people.
The third place is the world's system. There's a counter value. Again, I don't want to get political, but there's one candidate who defines everything by winning and losing. So when this candidate was criticized in the New York Times, his response was "the failing New York Times." You either win or lose. And I get that. I get winning and losing. But who's going to define what a win is and what a loss is?
Because there's people around us who the world says are winners and God would say are losers. So I'll play that game if you want to, but let's define what it means to be a winner or loser. So the world system may bring harshness on you.
Self-Inflicted Suffering
Or, and this is a big one, there's self-inflicted suffering. You sin. It's the old John Wayne line: Life is tough, especially if you're stupid. Life is tough, especially if you sin. If you want to do it your way, He's going to say, go ahead and do it your way.
I remember the first time I ever had a GPS. We were in Cannon Beach and we landed in Portland. And we got in the car. The guy said, "Do you want GPS?" And I said, "No." And he goes, "Well, let me just put it in. Have you ever had it?" I said, "No." He said, "Oh, you'll love it."
So I get in the car and I'm punching this thing in and Susan's there and it comes out and says "turn left." And she said, "I think you put it in wrong." I said, "We aren't out of the parking garage and we got a problem." And I said, "Hey, this thing knows." So I turn left and she said, "This isn't right. I don't think this is right." I said, "Man, we got this."
Next thing I know, I see a sign that says, "Welcome to Canada." And so I'm going, "All right, we might have..." I said, "I don't know, the machine's screwed up." So I unplug it and I listen to her and we get to Cannon Beach.
And about three days later, we're on our way to Seaside. And I said, "Well, I'm going to try this again." So I plug it in and punch in and it said, "turn left." I turn left. I turn right. I turn right. And then it didn't say anything for a long time. I thought, wow, because I'm almost to the ocean. And I'm thinking, wow, it's broken. And then it said, "At the earliest possible time, make a legal U-turn."
See, for us, God's doing that, where He's going—except He doesn't say "at the earliest possible time." He's saying now, if you're down this sinful path, make a U-turn. It's called repentance.
Four Steps When Suffering Comes
So those are sources of it. What do you do when suffering comes? Well, let me see if I can combine a bunch of things for you down into four.
Number one, just acknowledge that you're hurting or you're suffering or you're afraid or whatever the issue is. Number two, think theologically. Don't think in the pain. Think theologically. Hear God say, "I've got this under control. God causes all things to work together for good."
And then third, remember. Remember what He's done. That's a great thing about anniversary, among other things, is to go, what do you remember about the last four years, the good stuff? What do you remember? And begin to remember how you've been here before and you've seen God work.
And then the fourth thing is to trust Him to work again. Be still. Psalm 46, verse 10. "Be still and know that I'm God." I'm at work.
I was just invited to come to one of our campuses and teach through selected psalms for the summer, and I was assigned Psalm 23. Perfect. Because "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." He will be there.
The Promise to Overcomers
He says in verse 11, and we close, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says. He who overcomes, he who perseveres, he who is there at the end, shall not be hurt by the second death." He will not be hurt by eternal separation from God, but will be rewarded with eternal union with God.
On February 23, 155 A.D., the Romans, driven by the Jewish population and those others antagonistic to the church, decided that it was time to do something about the church. And the leader of the church at that time was a guy by the name of Polycarp. And everybody loved him. And the Romans loved him. But they decided he was going to be the point of the spear on the issue.
So they came to him and they said, "Say Caesar is Lord." And he said, "I'm not going to do it." "What harm is there in that?" He said, "Well, I'm not going to do it." And for two hours, he fed them and provided them comfort as they debated what to do. And they decided that if he didn't say Caesar was Lord, that he was going to have to be burnt at the stake.
Polycarp's Example
So he now becomes really this iconic model for us. Here's what he said: "Eighty and six years I have served Him, and He's done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me? You threaten me with a fire that burns for a time and is quickly quenched. For you do not know the fire which awaits the wicked in the judgment to come in an everlasting punishment. Why are you waiting? Come and do what you will do. Come and burn me."
And then he asked not to be tied to the stake. And he said, "Leave me as I am, for He who gives me the power to endure the fire will grant me to remain in the flames."
See what he's done there? It's what you and I need to do. "Though the outer man is decaying, the inner man is renewed day by day. For momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison."
It is not that we become so earthly minded we're no heavenly good. But we become heavenly minded and this world, as confusing as it is, begins to fit into place. Which doesn't mean all the answers, but I now have God's perspective on it. Momentary light affliction, eternal weight of glory.
I don't always know why. I know the big bucket answer is whatever's coming into my life, that hurt, that pain, is for my good and ultimately for God's glory. So you're here today and you're hurting, there's the comfort to you. That's what I think Jesus would say to you. Now if you're hurting today and going,
What a waste of time. I'm not suffering at all. I'm in real tranquil peace. Let me just tell you something—heads up: this too shall pass.
If love is the universal language, suffering is the universal experience, and you will suffer. Thirty years ago today, Whitney Houston released "Greatest Love of All." But while love may be universal, so is suffering, and it will come to each of us.