Suffering: Not My Favorite Thing (King of Glory, North Myrtle Beach, 830 Service)

We are called to do many things in our lifetime. Some of them are wonderful, like eating steak; others are not, like eating salad. As we approach Thanksgiving, a holiday that for me has always been more about food and family than the generosity of Native Americans toward the struggling Pilgrims, we explore the purpose of suffering, something against which I have a general policy. 

In our suffering, in our doubt, in our failures, in our grieving, God is not a fair weather friend. God is with us, and chooses to sit in that space with us rather than cheapening it with quick fixes or platitudes designed to ease the anxiety of that space.

Through baptism, we hear God’s promise that in this family water is thicker than blood, and though the world may laugh with us but abandon us in our tears, God is always with us.

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