And

The theology of blessings diminishes God. It puts man in charge. If I do this, think that or adhere to this set of rules and behaviors God will be obligated to bless me. Intimacy with God and those He’s placed around us suffers immensely when we allow this principle in our lives. Keeping up the facade of God’s special blessing will wear you out. We are not in control!

His Grace is Sufficient

While scripture may not specifically say, “God will never give you more than you can handle”, it’s certainly evident throughout that with Him anything is possible, that in Him there is always hope and that all things work together for good to those who love God. So while He never promised us a life free of *trouble, He has assured us that if we’ll include Him, we’ll not only get through the difficulty but actually come out the other side closer to Him and better able to trust Him the next time life gets hard.

*Philippians 1:29 For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake

Reward

Christianity was never intended to be a morality based on reward. Following Jesus is a process of becoming more and more like Him. Scripture tells us we are to be conformed to the image of His Son which means going through similar trials and tribulations. Jesus didn’t suffer to save us from suffering; He died to save us from death.

In the Midst of our Enemies

“Jesus Christ lived in the midst of his enemies. At the end all his disciples deserted him. On the Cross he was utterly alone, surrounded by evildoers and mockers. For this cause he had come, to bring peace to the enemies of God. So the Christian, too, belongs not in the seclusion of a cloistered life but in the thick of foes. There is his commission, his work. ‘The kingdom is to be in the midst of your enemies. And he who will not suffer this does not want to be of the Kingdom of Christ; he wants to be among friends, to sit among roses and lilies, not with the bad people but the devout people. O you blasphemers and betrayers of Christ! If Christ had done what you are doing who would ever have been spared? – Martin Luther.”

This quote from Martin Luther really brings to light what Pastor Saeed Abedini is suffering right now in Iran. If you haven’t done so would you please consider signing the petition asking for him to be freed at http://savesaeed.org/ ?

Impassible

Impassibility is a controversial attribute among Christian scholars. What it means is that God does not suffer and those that adhere to this characteristic would say that because of His aseity, the fact that He doesn’t need us, He therefore must not suffer. I sure don’t want to argue with scholars but the questions that come to mind on this for me are about Jesus. Did Christ suffer more than we can imagine? Is Jesus God? Is Christ always God? Answering these questions with yes, yes and yes leads me to believe that God knows suffering and can relate to all that we go through. It seems like an exercise of His sovereignty that He chose to suffer for us.