Romans 5 'We rejoice in our suffering, for we know that suffering leads to endurance'
Crazy. Sounds like nothing I want to be part of at first glance. At second glance it become apparent that more is going on here and I need to listen further.
Most athletes I know will say 'it's worth it in the end' in regards to their training regiment or a particular exercise routine they are working on. Being sore the next day is never fun... although it feels kind of good. And the second day is usually somewhat torturous. Through all the pain and soreness we press on through the routine knowing that in the end on race day or competition day it's been worth more than the onlooker will ever know.
When I started hangboarding to make up for time not spent on rock I was really discouraged. Apparently I was a little too gung-ho starting off. Sheesh, who knew elbows could hurt so bad! After reading several articles and re-vamping Metolius' routines, I got settled in on a combination of hanging, calisthenics, and weights (oh yeah and rest days). I'm a 3 and half week person (at least right now at this age...) and in about that time frame I saw serious improvements over my climbing abilities. Being able to confidently hang on to the rock is 51% of climbing... okay, 100% but you get the point. Serious differences occurred for a person who gets on real rock 3 times a year. The suffering through the training was worth it to climb without getting shaky or running out of steam on the 3rd send.
I told that story to tell you this: when suck fests in life start happening stick it with, don't resist, don't withdraw, it's worth it in the end.
'Yeah sure, but when life sucks people are involved not cliffs and crags'.
Find verse 3 of chapter 5 of Romans and keep reading. That statement is a promise not a challenge, not a theory. When you start to suffer and you stick with it and you find you can endure other sufferings only to realize your character has changed, your hope is now genuine and not just a pipe dream.
I might expect this not to make sense to someone who is not following Christ. But I will explain how it's so large that it covers over even them.
To think for a second that this is only for believers is incomplete and simply untrue or the apostle Paul would have stopped there with that bit of philosophy and never written verse 6 and beyond. Most of Jesus' own followers weren't believers while they were with Him. It wasn't until after His resurrection most of them came to believe.
Cue verse 8. 'While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.'
Jesus didn't wait for even His own disciples to get it together before dying for them. This is the covering over us all, anyone who tells you different is lying and out to control you. Jesus suffers though all my roughness instead of waiting for me to be good enough for Him. It seems to be common practice for us to do the opposite. 'You need to be lovable before I can love you.'... horribly guilty of doing this myself.
The first verses of Romans chapter 5 aren't just a promise for us they are a description of Jesus' intentions.
Whether I believe or not was never an issue. I need to either embrace it or reject it. I embrace, it has the beauti of a new beginning.
You can read similar thoughts here: http://landfillsessions.weebly.com/lfs-letters/its-dangerous.