Thursday, June 18, 2009

'Joyful ... patient ... faithful'

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

"Be joyful in hope ... ."

Paul went through some dreadful, awful, torturous experiences during his ministry. But again and again, he wrote about hope.

I can't imagine the life Paul had - he turned turned from society's "in" crowd and took the path of the often persecuted. Perfect? No. But that was not required for Paul and it's certainly not required for Christ followers.

So when human afflictions seem overwhelming, I hope you can find comfort in Paul's writings. He, too, was afflicted but found peace.

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