Realization #08) The suffering makes the Salvation …
Realization #08: It is God-allowed pains & difficulties that actually make our personal Salvation possible.
Not only does our pain not come from God, the pain-filled life that God allows us to create for ourselves actually enables us to eventually attain Salvation. For indeed, it is the pain from our poor (i.e. self-centered) choices that ultimately inspires many of us to repent – to radically alter our ways and begin serving others as opposed to striving to be served by them. As such, our pains & trials are integral parts of the process that ultimately reveals to us God’s all-loving Grace …
“It is through many persecutions that we must enter the Kingdom of God.” ~ Acts 14:22
Indeed, just because God is loving, in no way means that the life He has given us must be easy. Indeed, what meaning is there in a life without challenge? What bliss is there in completing tasks that have no difficulty? What Peace do we attain from doing “good works” that do not involve great risk or effort?
As such, our discomforts serve a two-fold function on our way back to a reunion with God. First, they re-mind us every time we happen to stray from the path of God’s Will (“To keep me from being too elated, a thorn was given me in the flesh … Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, but He said to me: My Grace is sufficient for you, for Power is made perfect in weakness.” ~ 2 Corinthians 12:7-10) … and second, they make our lives Meaning-full by giving us the opportunity to persevere through challenge. Indeed, the more difficult a Right Action is to engage, the more true & lasting Peace it brings us while we do so.
“[And Jesus asked] ‘Now which of them will Love him more?’ And Simon answered, ‘I suppose the one for whom he canceled the greater debt.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘You have discerned correctly.’” ~ Luke 7:43
My Friends, not only have we been given a conscious life to lead, we have also been given an adventure to enJoy (if we so choose), in that we are allowed to experience our trials, that we might thereafter come to know the Peace that comes when we Love God (and life) while struggling through them …
“He disciplines us for our own Good, in order that we may share in His holiness.” ~ Hebrews 12:11 … “For if we will unite with him in a death like his, we will certainly unite with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and that we might no longer be enslaved to sin … The death he died, he died to sin; but the Life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ.” ~ Romans 6:5-11
Our displays of Faith-full Love – despite immense temptations to be self-concerned & selfish – are our true victory; the victory of walking Jesus’ Way of selfless sacrifice; a victory that conquers the temptations of the material world (“For whatever is Born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world: our Faith.” ~ 1 John 5:4) … Yes, we receive painful consequences from all our missteps along that path (i.e. all our “our sins”), and yet those consequences are not sent upon us by God. Rather, it is God who loves us enough to allow us to reap the effects of what we ourselves have sown – and thereby allows for our ultimate Salvation anyway …
“If what has been built of the foundation survives, the builder will receive a reward. If, however, the work is burned up, the builder will suffer loss; that builder will also be saved, but only as through fire.” ~ 1 Corinthians 3:14-15 … “For godly grief produces repentance that leads to Salvation and brings no regret; only worldly grief produces death.” ~ 2 Corinthians 7:10-11
Yes, it may seem as though God is punishing you during times of trouble. And yet when this is so, remember that it is not God’s intention to ever cause you pain. Rather, you are simply experiencing how it feels when the Divine Source within you guides you back from selfishness – back to the glory of selfless Love …
“Do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, or lose heart when you are seemingly punished by Him; for the Lord disciplines those whom He loves, and chastises every child whom He accepts. Endure your trials, therefore, for the sake of discipline … Discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant at the time, but later always yields the peaceful Fruit of Righteousness for those who heed its Guidance.” ~ Hebrews 12:5-11
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