A doer is someone who believes in the One He Sent ~ John 6:29. And, in that, we are called to spread that good news! Believe in the One He Sent, for in Him there is eternal life! John 3:16.
In the knowledge of the One truth, we are commanded to love the Lord God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength ~ Mark 12:30 and to trust in Him, lean not on your own understanding ~ Proverbs 3:5. To run the good race til the end. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful ~ 2 Timothy 4:7.
Remain faithful… believing, loving, trusting in God (Father/Son/Holy Spirit) The One True God who sent His Son so that in Him we have been washed clean of sin; indeed, delivered from the law of sin and death…
Yes, with that truth in us, we are living to the Lord…we are doers?
That is why/how we can put God First because He is on First. In the recognition of that truth, one can and will experience suffering … suffering in the knowledge that He died for our sin, that we alone cannot overcome the world, that we are imperfect...less than the Creator who is Perfect.
In this fallen world, we are less than what God originally created us to be. Yes, in that truth there is suffering. And, it is painful to recognize as we may be seeing it for the first time in ourselves…that this is a fallen world, we are fallen too, struggling in a ‘beast’ system; and, so we suffer in that realization.
It is not easy as often many people cling to this fallen world. We will find that those around us seem to be sailing along in this fallen world oblivious to their condition.
Yes, this is suffering in the Lord Jesus Christ but also hopeful in His suffering; that He overcame the world. Therefore, in such suffering, we are called to remain faithful to the Lord God in this trial even to the end. For we have become partakers of Christ, if indeed we should hold firm unto the end the assurance from the beginning ~ Hebrews 3:14.
This is our suffering… yet, it becomes a rich experience found in the Lord’s unconditional love through the sharing of God’s Word… that by God’s gracious gift (His Son Jesus Christ) we have been delivered from the law of sin and death. This is one’s own personal suffering; in that truth, a free choice to believe in the One He sent, we are called children of God.
In this way, the person who lives though suffering in the knowledge of the truth, actually lives abundantly for they know what His sacrifice meant and means for them every step of the way… in this truth, they /we grow more fully conformed to Him (Phil 3:10; 1 Pet 2:21).
The one statement of Pope Saint John Paul II that is worth pointing is that here and now in this fallen world we can and should rejoice in the spiritual dimension of Christ’s suffering (that He died for our sin), ever modeling for us how one can grow “more fully conformed to him.” He ‘Jesus’ has left us with a treasure trove of wisdom for navigating these difficulties, serving as a beacon to all of the faithful.
Without Jesus, we are animals ‘beasts’ unworthy of eternal life. In that knowledge, we suffer and yet rejoice!
ReplyDeleteGive thanks and praise in all things… for therein is our suffering in Christ. “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:18.
ReplyDeleteThat we may suffer with and for Him. “And if we are children, then we are heirs: heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with Him, so that we may also be glorified with Him” ~ Romans 8:17. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake ~ Philippians 1:29.
Without Jesus, we are animals ‘beasts’ unworthy of eternal life. In that knowledge, we suffer and yet rejoice!