Why Do We Suffer...

C.S. Lewis said this - "The real problem is not why some pious, humble, believing people suffer, but why some do not."

Jen and I were talking the other night about the fear and anxiety that we feel about this new way of life that we are embarking on. We were praying that God would give us the grace and joy to walk into this new adventure ready to give up "our" schedule, "our" security in things, "our" comfort of "our" own space and "our" own time, or even in giving up "our" own life and what we have known. We love people, we love God, we love serving, but to this point we have loved all that within the comfort of owning "our" own house and having a secure and definite income. This new lifestyle of faith and following God challenges all of "our" paradigms and yet we know that God promises peace and faithfulness if we just trust. We have this sense that God is going to allow us as a family to experience the Kingdom of Heaven in a brand new way this year. In light of this new adventure God is calling us to... please read this passage from Luke. Let it challenge your hearts as it has our hearts.

LUKE 17:20-33

The Coming of the Kingdom

²⁰ One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will the Kingdom of God come?”

Jesus replied, “The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs. ²¹ You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you.”

²² Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see the day when the Son of Man returns, but you won’t see it. ²³ People will tell you, ‘Look, there is the Son of Man,’ or ‘Here he is,’ but don’t go out and follow them.²⁴ For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, so it will be on the day when the Son of Man comes. ²⁵ But first the Son of Man must suffer terribly and be rejected by this generation.

²⁶ “When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. ²⁷ In those days, the people enjoyed banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat and the flood came and destroyed them all.

²⁸ “And the world will be as it was in the days of Lot. People went about their daily business—eating and drinking, buying and selling, farming and building—²⁹until the morning Lot left Sodom. Then fire and burning sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. ³⁰ Yes, it will be ‘business as usual’ right up to the day when the Son of Man is revealed. ³¹ On that day a person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack. A person out in the field must not return home. ³² Remember what happened to Lot’s wife! ³³ If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it.

Giving up security, giving up the comforts of this world and following God brings challenges and fear, but we believe that God is calling us to follow Him to New Orleans and we also believe that what God promises, He always upholds. Therefore, friends, we want to live in God's promise that, if "we" cling to "our" life, "we" will lose it, and if "we" let "our" life go, "we" will save it. Pray that we continue to walk boldly into this new way of life and pray and ask what God would have you do with "your" life.

We love you and appreciate your prayers.