Nurturing Your Faith: Identity - Part Four (of 4): Made to Praise
By: Rev. Dr. John Nunes
In this world we will have our share of troubles, but that is not the end of the matter. In Nurturing Your Faith: Made to Praise, we see that though we experience hardship, calamities, and untold other perils, we have reason to thank God and praise Him-always. Christ took our suffering-all of it-to the cross, laid it in the grave, and triumphed over it by His resurrection.
The apostle Paul knew what it was to suffer. In fact, he considered suffering something like an essential ingredient in the Christian's life. Its presence produces endurance which builds character which gives us hope. And for this Paul writes, "We rejoice in our sufferings." In other words, we praise God for the hope "poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us" (see Romans 5).
Though we may feel like outsiders, excluded by others and alienated from God, we are reconciled-brought close to Him-by the death of Jesus on our behalf. Now, justified before God by Jesus' blood, we have moved from death to life-and all this God has done. In this we rejoice with praise unending, blessing God for the incomparable Gift of His Son.