Suffering

So I had just been reading through a chapter about suffering in John Piper's book, "Let the Nations Be Glad", which, by the way, is a great book. There's a quote I wanted to share on facebook, but it was too long to make a status. So here it is on my blog. Sometimes it's hard to articulate in words the necessity of suffering for Christ, and the brightness that it is to the world of our hope in Christ. But after reading this quote, I felt that it was well-worth repeating. This just being a sample of a great chapter.

You cannot show the preciousness of a person by being happy with his gifts. Ingratitude will certainly prove that the giver is not loved, but gratitude for gifts does not prove that the giver is precious. What proves that the giver is precious is the glad-hearted readiness to leave all his gifts to be with him. This is why suffering is so central in the mission of the church. The goal of our mission is that people from all the nations worship the true God. But worship means cherishing the preciousness of God above all else, including life itself. It will be difficult to bring the nations to love God from a lifestyle that communicates a love of things. Therefore, God ordains in the lives of his messengers that suffering severs our bondage to the world. When joy and love survive this severing, we are fit to say to the nations with authenticity and power: Hope in God.

-Piper "Let the Nations Be Glad"