Suffering is a Normal Part of Christianity

I’m reading old blog posts trying to find some citations and examples.

(Man! Am I a SINNER or WHAT? Nothing like reading old posts to remind me of THAT. Good thing God is SO forgiving!)

ANYWAY, I read an old post where I quoted Ajith Fernando and I wanted to commend his essay to you again. Here is just an excerpt to tempt you to read the entire post:
 

“Suffering with Christ is a normal part of Christianity and we must never make a big deal about this or be angry when we face it. In the ministry we constantly face inconvenience, tiredness, shame, slander, persecution, sorrow, disappointment and hurt. When we suffer we must be joyful because of the honour of suffering for his name (Acts 5:41); because of the reward to be received in heaven (Matt. 5:11); because it will be turned into something good for us (Rom. 8:28 ), because it draws us closer to Christ (Col. 1:24) and because it helps the church (Col. 1:24). We must never let those who hurt us take away our joy. That is an honour they do not deserve. When people hurt us we must battle till we can truly say that it is for our good (Rom. 8:28 ).”

Amen and thanks, Ajith! We love you and pray for you and your family regularly.