Being poor and rich, comfortable or suffering has no meaning on it’s own. Darkness and light within one’s journey has superficial meaning on it’s own. But in the hands of a master artist, dark and light patches in our lives can be made into a beautiful painting, filled with great meaning. And the whole is made more valuable than the sum of it’s parts. This journey is priceless. That is God’s economy, that process is called redemption.
For the covenanted beloved child of God, the question is not whether rich or not rich, healthy or not healthy, “good’ or “evil”. “Good” things for me and “Bad” things for me is all that is hoped for in a naturalistic view. For the child of God, it’s about having the journey of redemption vs no redemption. But to sign up for this package, one has to put their trust and journey with God – and there may be persecution and pain. And, it might even lead to capitulation. If so, why sign up? For the beloved child of God, adversity is but the starting point of redemption, it will lead to a final destination more glorious. The fullness of glory is worth more than the sum it’s parts. The greater the darkness, the more the light shines brighter at the end. Or to borrow the Biblical concept, He who has been forgive much, loves much (Luke 7). The greater the rescue, the more we shall brim with unspeakable gratefulness as the rescue finally frames God’s Grace in something we can truly understand.
The final destination is not only a “place”. The final destination, on top of a place of peace, is how we are transformed in the process, and our mind-blowing appreciation and affection of a God that did more than we could ever expect (Eph 3:20) as He was with us all steps of the way – even when we could not see Him. Even when NOBODY that looked into our lives could see Him in it. In our love, we share in His pain on the cross. In His love, He shares our pain and allows us to share His glory. You become fully You when we allow God to be fully God in our lives. This New You occurs as we travel to the New Country.
The Best is Yet to Be.
letters to a modern-day Job 