Many people come to faith because they think Christianity will fix their pain, and fix it fast. But what if God’s goal for his children is not that we enjoy an easier life, but that we share a deeper joy in him? Today, Pastor John walks through the book of 2 Corinthians to show how suffering isn’t wasted — it’s transformed in Christ. Today on Ask Pastor John: suffering for joy.
Pastor John begins another read through 2 Corinthians in our Bible reading. How would you challenge someone who believes Christianity is mostly about emotional healing and feeling good again? They don’t want to suffer. They want relief. They want to rid life of all discomforts. For that fix, many would believe in Christ. How does this book we are diving into now, 2 Corinthians, point us to a God who doesn’t just fix pain, but who intends to use our most challenging experiences in life in order to deepen our joy?
Second Corinthians really is a sobering and thrilling gateway into the Christian life. I think it’s fair to say that no other book in the New Testament is more stark or painfully realistic about the sufferings that Christians experience in this life. At the same time, this book, more often than any other New Testament book, insists on overflowing joy in the Christian life in spite of — even because of — that suffering. That’s what makes it so peculiar and sobering and thrilling as a gateway into the Christian life.
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