OUR SOURCE OF STRENGTH

Dr. Richard J. Henderson June 6, 2004

click for printable version

Psalm 8
Romans 5:1-5

Introduction

Paul, who wrote these words we read this morning about suffering, knew what he was talking about. During his ministry he was arrested, beaten and jailed; he faced it all. So these aren't glib words, this isn't Pollyanna speaking. Paul knows exactly what he is talking about. He recounts his experiences in II Corinthians: "Five times I have received the forty lashes minus one, three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, for a night and day I was adrift at sea...many sleepless nights, hungry and thirsty, often without food, cold and naked. And besides other things, I am under daily pressure because of my anxiety for all the Christians."

Paul's experience probably isn't a great deal different from other early disciples. They faced hard times because of their faith too. Suffering was part of the definition of what it meant to be a Christian in the early years. In the midst of this suffering, Paul writes to his fellow Christians to encourage them: "Stand firm in your faith, even amid this suffering."

I

You and I know suffering, too, but it is a different kind of suffering. Not many of us have received forty lashes minus one for our faith, but we still know the sting of hurt. We've stood looking into that awful hole in the ground as the wooden box is lowered. We throw in a rose as the dirt is filled in, and feel a huge empty hole in life. Emily Dickinson said, "Parting is all we know of heaven, and all we need of hell."

We've gotten the pink slip and suddenly panicked about the mortgage, the car payments, the kids education and our feeling of worth. We've stood up for our beliefs and felt the sting of resentment and paybacks for not going along. Maybe we've been passed over for a promotion because we wouldn't agree to a business deal we knew was immoral, if not illegal.

Maybe we don't have so many friends at school because people know we're Christian and think we're different. We know suffering. Just because we have freedom of religious and because we have a lot, doesn't mean life is easy, comfortable, or free from anxiety.

II

Paul says the source of our strength is God. We are able to endure, he says, because of God's love in us. In this passage, he walks us up a ladder of experience.

He says our suffering produces endurance, that endurance produces character, character produces hope, and hope will not disappoint us because of God's love poured into our hearts. Paul walks us up this ladder, showing how one experience leads to the next until we reach hope, which comes from God.

We can understand the effect of God's love in our lives if we come down that same ladder. The steps go both ways. What I mean is God's love gives us hope, and hope builds our character as Christians. Our character strengthens us to endure, and because of that we can withstand the suffering life brings us. Our ability to handle suffering comes directly from God's love.

III

Because we live in God's love, we have hope. Since we know God, we know that life is not the routine filling of days, but life has meaning and we are part of that meaning. To trust in God is to have hope that there is more to the world than we see day to day. Christian hope is that we are part of a bigger picture that only God knows.

A baby is born, and even before the umbilical cord is cut, that infant breathes in the air around her, and lets out a cry. When we are born as Christians, we enter a world where hope is as much a part of our world as air is to that newborn child. A Christian without hope is a contradiction in terms!

Antoine de Saint-Exupery said, "If you want to build a ship, don't herd people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea."

God has not herded us together, nor has he given us jobs to do, God has shown us the endless mysteries of love and hope.

IV

Because we live in the hope of God, we are people of character. Trusting in God, we live as Christ's people. That means, for one thing, we have strength and determination; we stand firm for what is just. Because of our faith, we value freedom and equality, so we can't stand by and allow people to be treated unfairly.

Our character comes from knowing who we are and what we stand for. So we are people firmly rooted in love and forgiveness.

Eleanor Roosevelt said, "People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. That is how character is built." Our Christian character grows from facing life honestly as Christians; applying our Christian values in all the experiences of life - all the pleasant and bitter times we face. Our character develops in living as Christ's faithful people, day by day.

V

Our character helps us endure difficult times. Since our character is based on our relationship with God, we can endure frustration, disappointment, and loss. We know that these experiences are part of a greater picture we may not yet understand.

We can endure troubled times because we are able to trust that God's love is true. Paul teaches us that God doesn't give us more than we can bear.

We also know that God has experienced suffering also. We don't suffer alone; in fact, God is especially with us in those times of need. We can endure because of the faith and character God has given us.

VI

Not all suffering is bad. At least in small doses, frustration, pain, and struggles can make us stronger - can build our character. When we endure a difficult time and realize we have made it through with God's help, we are stronger. We recognize we have the fortitude we needed.

Without resistance, we would probably be weak, sagging Christians. Some challenges to our faith remind us of who we are, what we believe and how we must stand up for our faith.

Several years ago, we visited Biosphere II, in Tucson, Arizona. You may remember is an artificial environment where scientist created a whole world in a glass-enclosed building. It is filled with plants and animals. They attempted to create as real a replica of our world as they could in this enormous glass building. Some people lived in Biosphere II for several months.

One of the fascinating things about this place is that they found the trees grew very poorly. They had everything they needed, but they grew up weak and sagging. When the trees got too tall, they were so weak they bent over. The scientists realized that the trees did this because they never had any resistance. There weren't any windstorms inside. They never had to bend with the strong winds of a spring storm, or a summer lightning storm. Never having to face that kind of resistance, they grew up to be weak, wilting trees.

Maybe the resistance we face to our faith helps us grow stronger in our character as Christians.

Conclusion

As long as we are alive, we will face difficult times. Not all of that is bad. Because we trust God, we have an ultimate hope that fills our world. That hope is part of the foundation supporting our Christian character. Our character helps us endure the "slings and arrows" of living in this world. As Paul tells us, suffering produces endurance and endurance builds character and character produces hope.

Hope will not disappoint us because it comes from God.

Amen.

©Richard J. Henderson 2004