The Trials [part 3]

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

In this third and final part, I want to just wrap up…

In the book of Matthew it says, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs.  (11)  “Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of Me.  (12)  Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:10-12 HCSB)

As Christians, sometimes we expect things to get easier for us, since we are on God’s side…  We face Trials…  Besides persecution, I’m sure you can think of 100 other examples of types of trials we might face in life…  Why do we have to go through them in the first place?!

I dealt with that question a little bit previously in a post called The Suffering, but perhaps that is a question left to God.  Perhaps each time, there is a different reason with each person.  Perhaps there is only one reason.  I do not know exactly.  But what I do know is that there is a reason.  There is a hope at the end of all the trials, the suffering and the pain.  A true hope.  One that will not fail us.  One who knows and has felt all that we have been through…

At the end of time, billions of people were scattered on the vast plain before God’s Throne. Some shrank back from the brilliant light before them. But many other groups talked heatedly, not cringing with shame, but with belligerence.

“Can God judge us? How can He know about suffering?”, snapped a pert brunette. She ripped open a sleeve to reveal a tattooed number from a Nazi concentration camp. “We endured terror … beating … torture … death!”

 
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I went to visit an old friend the other day.  He and I have known each other since we were 16, working together after school during the week, on the weekends, and through the summers all through high school. 

I’ve visited him a few times in past few months and it’s really quite a sad state.  I’m always amazed at how just a few simple wrong choices from years gone by can lead a person to where they’re at today… where my friend is today… sitting in jail… 

I could tell when I went that he was beginning to get restless after being in there for so long.  The same walls, same room, same patio area, a revolving door of people, day in and day out.

As you walk in the visiting area to talk to an inmate, you’re separated by a thick soundproof, shatterproof glass.  Each of you sit down and pick up the telephone receiver and talk.  Your conversations are recorded, and your time is limited.

We talked about various and sundry things and before we knew it our time was up.  At the end of our conversation, I hung up the phone, waved my goodbye, and looking through the glass with my friend on the other side… I felt a kind of sadness for him. 

Leaving the visiting area at this particular county jail always gives you time to ponder. 
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