Thanksgiving is a joyful time of counting our
blessings. This last verse in the
Beatitudes tells us we are blessed through persecution and suffering. While it is a concept we can grasp in our
minds, grief typically blinds our hearts to the blessings. Scripture admonishes us ‘Give thanks in all
things for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.’ Trusting that will in the face of heartaches
raises our faith to new heights. Believing
in the power and love of God as we confront situations that rip our hearts
apart exercises our faith in painful degrees.
Like athletes who must strain their muscles to develop them, the faith
of the Christian must be stressed to grow.
Faith cleansed of impurities and strong in its integrity is the blessing
of persecution and struggle. It is
such an impressive blessing, three verses discuss it! Inheriting the very Kingdom of heaven is the
glorious summation of this blessing.
“It will be worth it all” proclaims the hymn, and God
confirms it. The world resents the message
of the Gospel for it carries with it the truth that sinful humanity needs a
savior. Accepting our lack offends our
human nature. Choosing to live in the
light of that Truth requires us to rely increasingly on that Savior. Every
trial in life—whether an attack generated by hatred of the gospel or a crisis
created by living in a world broken by sin—becomes a tool for increasing
righteousness in the child of God. The
reward is greater than our minds can fully grasp, but let’s try.
Imagine: the Kingdom
of Heaven. We often long for the
Paradise of Eden but heaven has even more allure to me. Adam and Eve, in innocence, knew nothing of
the glory of God’s forgiveness and mercy.
Understanding His love was ‘limited’ to a glimpse of His generosity and
creativity. In the protected confines of
Eden, the depths of God’s goodness were obscured. In this broken world where we encounter
suffering—and sometimes persecution for His glory—the ‘filling up in the flesh
of His suffering’ starts to enter our understanding. We begin to see shadows of the excruciating
cost God foresaw and accepted before He ever created humanity. He knew what creating and loving us would
require of Him, and He created and loved us anyway. Our suffering carves into our souls a tiny
awareness of the magnificent beauty of divine love. That is a blessing that heals the deepest
wounds; may our hearts overflow with thankfulness.
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