Darci Strutt McQuiston here, your guest Epistle writer for
June 12.
There is a
lot happening in our world. I attended a forum from the UMC that dealt
with what they called “2 viruses”. The original focus had been how
churches could safely restart sanctuary worship with COVID-19 in mind.
Before the day of the forum, we had a second “virus” make itself clear,
racism. The organizers decided to deal with both. Rev Dawn spoke
more about the forum in her Wednesday Epistle.
One speaker
advised the importance of letting the discomfort linger instead of rushing to
return to a place of comfort. I remember a saying from my youth, “True
Christianity comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable.”
There are things to learn within this feeling of discomfort. We are
called to lives of service, and sometimes that means going outside our comfort
zone.
Thursday and
Friday of this week the Disciple daily readings focused on Romans 5:1-8.
It fit my thoughts well.
1 Therefore,
since we have been made righteous through his faithfulness, we have peace with
God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 We have
access by faith into this grace in which we stand through him, and we boast in
the hope of God’s glory.
3 But not
only that! We even take pride in our problems, because we know that trouble
produces endurance,
4 endurance
produces character, and character produces hope.
5 This hope
doesn’t put us to shame, because the love of God has been poured out in our
hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
6 While we
were still weak, at the right moment, Christ died for ungodly people.
7 It isn’t
often that someone will die for a righteous person, though maybe someone might
dare to die for a good person.
8 But God
shows his love for us, because while we were still sinners Christ died for us.
The translation I remember has the
word “problems” as “sufferings” in verse 3. I decided to look up verses 3 and 4 in my Amplified Bible to see what it
said.
3 Moreover
[let us also be full of joy now!] let us exult and triumph in our troubles and
rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that pressure and affliction and hardship
produce patient and unswerving endurance.
4 And
endurance (fortitude) develops maturity of character (approved faith and tried
integrity). And character [of this sort] produces [the habit of] joyful and
confident hope of eternal salvation.
The
Amplified Bible certainly does amplify meaning! These problems or
troubles or sufferings, when caused by following Jesus, lead us to endurance,
and maturity of character, and confident hope.
One of my
favorite hymns is “We Are Called”. The second verse has been
floating through my head.
Come!
Open your heart! Show your mercy to all those in fear!
We
are called to be hope for the hopeless
so hatred and violence will be no more.
We are called to act with justice; we are called to love tenderly.
We are called to serve one another, to walk humbly with God.
The Apostle Paul reminded the church
in Rome that the life of a Christian is not easy. Yet, if they were
following Christ’s calling, that suffering would lead to becoming a more mature
person. A person that has confidence in the love of
God. A person who is learning to love as God loves.
I offer you the prayer from the
Disciplines for June 11.
Hold me, loving God, and steady me
to keep walking with you on the paths you open. Give me patience and
persistence in following your call. Amen.
