[:en]THE SHEPHERD’S CORNER

The weather this week has been unforgivingly hot and precarious! In the middle of the heat wave we had a thunderstorm. Yes, it did rain! But, like the song says, “After the rain comes the rainbow,” the following morning after the thunderstorm was simply lovely. As I was driving, I saw the sun rise and its ray shine through the dark clouds. Behind the dark clouds, the sun is waiting. And, it doesn’t matter how thick the clouds are, the sun ray can still penetrate.

Life is full of pain and suffering. As we endured the scorching heat this week, people in Texas had to endure a far more merciless devastation and loss. In his discussion about human suffering, E. Stanley Jones, the former missionary to India, writes, “So, what matters is not what happens to you, but what you do with it after it does happen to you. Your cross can become the bitterest of unrelieved agonies, or it may become to you the most blessed of unlimited opportunities . . . . the question is not where it (the pain and suffering) came from but where it is going!” Amen to that!

Everything that happens to us—and what we do with it—leads to something and somewhere. In the case of Christ’ suffering, it leads to our salvation. Perhaps in our case, it leads to others’ salvation—or our own salvation! We should not excessively ruminate on where this pain came from or why it came, God’s faithful children. In suffering, we should instead look ahead and follow His lead.

This year—like the year before and the year before—we celebrate birthdays. But, some of us have another day to remember—the day our loved ones died, perhaps last year, or the year before or the year before that. We have said goodbye but how can we really say goodbye? We can’t. So, let’s just say, “God has been good to us!”

Pastor Paul[:id]THE SHEPHERD’S CORNER

The weather this week has been unforgivingly hot and precarious! In the middle of the heat wave we had a thunderstorm. Yes, it did rain! But, like the song says, “After the rain comes the rainbow,” the following morning after the thunderstorm was simply lovely. As I was driving, I saw the sun rise and its ray shine through the dark clouds. Behind the dark clouds, the sun is waiting. And, it doesn’t matter how thick the clouds are, the sun ray can still penetrate.

Life is full of pain and suffering. As we endured the scorching heat this week, people in Texas had to endure a far more merciless devastation and loss. In his discussion about human suffering, E. Stanley Jones, the former missionary to India, writes, “So, what matters is not what happens to you, but what you do with it after it does happen to you. Your cross can become the bitterest of unrelieved agonies, or it may become to you the most blessed of unlimited opportunities . . . . the question is not where it (the pain and suffering) came from but where it is going!” Amen to that!

Everything that happens to us—and what we do with it—leads to something and somewhere. In the case of Christ’ suffering, it leads to our salvation. Perhaps in our case, it leads to others’ salvation—or our own salvation! We should not excessively ruminate on where this pain came from or why it came, God’s faithful children. In suffering, we should instead look ahead and follow His lead.

This year—like the year before and the year before—we celebrate birthdays. But, some of us have another day to remember—the day our loved ones died, perhaps last year, or the year before or the year before that. We have said goodbye but how can we really say goodbye? We can’t. So, let’s just say, “God has been good to us!”

Pastor Paul[:]