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by Rev. Fr. V.V. Paulose, Toronto, Canada
"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed to us." (Romans 8:18)
Individualism is the norm now. Exceptions are
rare. The number of people willing to take the burden of carrying others'
burdens at the expense of own sufferings are very few. But we could see some
lights here and there. Those who have gone through the sufferings know the joy
and the rewards for it.
Life is not a bed if roses. No body can skip the pains of life. It is merely a
mirage to use drugs and suicide to avoid the life reality of sufferings. The
faithful love of the lord has no ends. Great is His faithfulness. His mercies
begin afresh each morning and stands till the night. He promised the restoration
and blessings to those who suffer. "God blesses those who mourn, for they will
be comforted." (Mathew 5:4). To live as Jesus did it - serving others, giving up
one’s right, resisting pressures to confirm to the world - always exacts a
price. Nothing we suffer, however, can compare to the great price that Jesus
paid to save us. One day all creation will be liberated and transformed. Until
that time we have to share the pain of others and let be blessed. Jesus
promises, he will pour the rain of blessings in the desert of sufferings.
Thomas, a health professional, became a widower, when he was 27. He had three
children, one son and two daughters, to take care of. The family and friends
insisted that he remarry. But he refused. He himself baby-sat, tutored the kids
and provided them with first class education. He never avoided or shirked the
responsibilities the God had entrusted on him. He used to say, "children are the
gift and the heritage of God and we should not shirk that responsibility."
The son got a job in a big city and all the family relocated to there. The girls
got married and moved out. God selected a lovely medical doctor girl for the
son. She treated her father-in-law as her own father. Wherever they traveled,
the father was also with them. She never allowed, knowingly or unknowingly, her
father-in-law to suffer any pain till his death at 82. Till the death, no one
could see his face without a big smile.
Do you see the promises of God to provide solace, renewal and hopes in the midst
of sufferings where, the world is at the wings to get another, as soon as the
better half fades?
Jesus, We trust in your promises of hopes and solace in the midst of our sufferings. Give your joy and blessings to those who carry the burden of others. We pray for those who are persecuted and suffered. All we ask in the name of Jesus.
Amen.
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