Endurance & Vintage Blogs

"Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory." -- 2 Timothy 2:10

Matt Chandler (pastor of the Village Church in TX), recently preached a sermon entitled, "Ask" in which he said this... roughly: "Your trials are not only meant to reveal God's glory to you. They are meant to reveal God's glory to others."

It's amazing how utterly selfish we can be, even in our suffering. Somehow, we think even our darkest nights are about us; our pain, our sorrow, our lack of comfort. What of God's glory? What of His will? What of His fame? What of the lessons that other people may learn while observing our conduct in the midst of the fire?

Suffering is always near -- it must be near to us, it must become our 'friend' (shout out to pre-heretical Hannah Hurnard). Suffering is Jesus' instrument of choice -- one of many instruments He uses -- to do surgery on our character. Its blade is sharp and precise -- nothing goes that must stay and nothing stays that must go -- and it is for our good and HIS GLORY (which must include the various expressions and responses that result in other's hearts and minds while being a by-stander).

All that to say... I don't want to be selfish in my suffering. I want to "endure for the sake of the elect", not just my sake, that those who know Him would no Him more fully and those who don't would come to know Him.

This isn't necessarily an astounding revelation... but it renews my mind as I see the sun setting in my life and in the lives of others.

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Side note... the second part of this blog title has to do with the fact that I posted a bunch of old blogs that I wrote but never set free (or removed, but am now re-posting). Take a look, if you've got the time. True, use of the word 'vintage' may be atrocious, but it got you to keep reading, didn't it? : )