In yesterday’s devotion I shared some thought-provoking quotes from Augustine. As I was reviewing these quotes, one really got me thinking about losing and choosing the blessings of life. According to Augustine: “A man may lose the good things of this life against his will; but if he loses the eternal blessings, he does so with his own consent.”1
In life, because of sin, our world is broken. And as a result, there is no guarantee that we will be able to receive and experience many of the good things we desire in life. For example, in America, owning our own home is the dream of so many of its citizens. However, for many this dream of home ownership is never obtained. Or a marriage, which started out on such a good foot, sadly, for many couples, doesn’t work out in the long run. While most people expect and want marriage for life, divorce often crushes this dream. So, Augustine, is spot on when he states, “a man may lose the good things of this life against his will.” This state of affairs is just part of what happens in a world that is under the curse of sin.
And while life is often unfair, praise Jesus, God is not. Sadly, many people, including some Christians, confuse life with God, in the sense that how can God be good when so many people experience severe trials and suffering in this life. I believe, part of the problem is that many people don’t realize that life is really our training grounds for eternity and that God often sends trials and suffering our way to build up our faith, thus allowing us to be used to bring glory to Jesus as we trust in God and overcome these difficult times of life.
For the Christian I believe that when suffering comes our way we need to trust God that He has a divine plan for ultimate good. And if we allow Him, we can use the suffering we go through as an opportunity to bring Him glory. So, for the Christian we can use suffering to either grow more reliant and close to God or bitter and away from Him.
So Christian, what about you? Are you suffering from an illness? Have you recently lost your job? Or has your wife just had a miscarriage? In all of these situations God has allowed them to happen because He has a master plan in which He wants to use your tragedy for His glory. Our role is to trust God that He will use our sufferings in unique ways if we just turn them over to Him. So, rather than question God in these above cases with the refrain: “why me,” I much prefer to ask God how can you use these negatives to bless others and make me a God glorifying vessel. So, while we may not get some of the good things in life, we can rejoice in knowing that not our will but God’s will be done!
Augustine concludes his short quotation with this critical thought: “but if he loses the eternal blessings, he does so with his own consent.” My friends, God gives everyone a free will and as a result we can choose to serve Jesus with the accompanying treasure trove of eternal blessings that come with this relationship, or we can choose to go life our own way, without Jesus, and forfeit, by “our own consent” eternal life! God is truly a gentleman and He will never force us to comply with a lifestyle that includes Jesus even though He knows that we will forfeit His eternal blessings and spend eternity separated from Jesus in a literal hell!
So, to sum up, temporal blessings may not always come our way as we sacrifice and practice self-denial for the sake of the gospel. However, we are guaranteed eternal blessing with Jesus as we “consent” to follow Jesus. If we lose these eternal blessings we have only ourselves to blame for choosing sin over the Savior!
in today’s devotional, you talk about trials we endure that bring glory to God Please consider sharing some real-life examples of the way God is glorified by people’s trials
Hi Don:
One example is when Jesus went to the cross. He suffered the trial of his life and brought great glory to God in bringing salvation to millions. In fact, God turned the worst thing that ever happened in history to the greatest thing that ever happened in history.
Another example is that of missionary to Africa, David Livingstone. He suffered greatly and yet not only did he not view it as a sacrifice, but He knew that by being willing to suffer for the sake of Christ it would bring great glory to God.
God bless, Don.
Curt
Thanks, Curt.
I can relate to Augustine’s distinction (and Curt’s) between temporal loss and eternal consent. I’ve pulled from this gut feeling when I delivered a Mission sermon, using a framework of Milk and Meat themes: free will, grace under hardship, service, and the thorn that forces dependence on Christ.
After reading Mr. Blattman’s essay, it seems close enuf, like in horseshoes, to share herein. You can decide, right?
When Blessings Bleed
• Temporal blessings can be lost without our consent. Eternal blessings are forfeited only by refusal.
• God’s goodness is not measured by the condition of our comfort.
• Free will is a gift with teeth. It lets us choose between surrender or self-rule.
• Suffering is not always a sign of divine absence. Often it is the forge of divine formation.
• The Christian life is not a greedy hunt for perks. It is training for eternity.
Augustine lands the blow without asking permission: “A man may lose the good things of this life against his will; but if he loses the eternal blessings, he does so with his own consent.” Curt was right-on to seize that line. That line drags us out of sentimental religion and into reality.
In a fallen world, earthly blessings do not stay put simply because we prayed, behaved, tithed, or wished really, really hard. Homes are lost. Marriages fracture. Health fails. Jobs vanish. Graves fill. Creation is cracked by sin, and no amount of religious varnish changes that.
That is an introductory truth – welcome to ChristWorld – Gentiles and the uncircumcised kneel to the left please. Have your soul card ready for the agent.
The second truth is even less flattering to our preferences. God is still good, especially when life is not.
Christians often act as if God owes us a smooth road because we “belong” to Him. Strange logic. Scripture never promised a padded staircase to glory. It promised a cross, a race, a fight, a thorn, a narrow road.
The problem is not that God has failed to bless us. The problem is that we keep defining blessing like spoiled heirs rather than redeemed sinners. We want peace without surrender, abundance without obedience, and comfort without holiness.
We want milk forever because milk is easy. Meat requires teeth.
The apologetic milk is the foundational word of salvation: Christ crucified, risen, offered freely to sinners. The meat is what comes after conversion, when a believer learns that grace is not only what saves him from hell, but what steadies him through suffering. Milk tells us God loves us. Meat teaches us to trust that love when the lights go out.
The Logic Spine: Why Blessings Are Not Always Soft.
1. Temporal blessings are too small to carry eternal meaning.
Earthly gifts are real gifts. Sadly, they make terrible gods. If God gave us uninterrupted ease, we would mistake comfort for communion. We would clutch the package and ignore the Sender. Houses, health, success, and human love are all good temporal things, but they are not ultimate things. They are not the feast. They are table scraps compared to Christ.
2. Suffering exposes what we actually worship.
Nothing reveals our soul faster than loss. When blessings disappear, what remains? Praise or accusation? Trust or resentment? Worship or complaint? Hardship is not always punishment. Often it is revelation. It shows whether we loved God Himself or merely the benefits package.
3. Free will means no one drifts into eternal life by accident.
Augustine’s second blade cuts deepest here. A man may lose earthly good against his will, but eternal loss is different. Eternal blessings are not stolen from us by bad luck, bad timing, or bad genes. They are refused. The sinner clings to self-rule and calls it freedom, but it’s really polished rebellion. Hell is not a scheduling conflict. It is the final dignity of human refusal.
4. God often delivers His deepest blessings through hardship.
After receiving salvation and grace, Paul begged for the thorn to go. God did not remove it. God answered that grace is sufficient. That offends modern instincts – we prefer explanations, exits, and anesthesia. God often gives none of these. Instead, God gives grace that keeps breathing under pressure. That is stronger blessing. Easy days can make shallow saints. Suffering, received in faith, drives the roots deep enough to bring everlasting freedom.
5. Some blessings arrive as subtraction.
God sometimes removes what we idolize so we can see what we actually need. God cuts away props, false securities, and little kingdoms of self. Not because God is cruel, but because He is jealous in the holy sense. He means to have our hearts whole. Abraham learned that on the mountain. Job learned it in the ashes. We learn it when the life we planned dies, and the life God is shaping begins.
6. Some blessings are not comforts at all. They are assignments.
A trial may be the place where your personal witness grows and sharpens your bite. A wound may become the opening through which someone else sees Christ. We are not blessed merely for private enjoyment. We are blessed for faithful usefulness. God consoles His people, and God sends them. Sometimes the very sorrow you begged Him to remove becomes the thing He uses to make you believable.
A Few Words for the Children: Kids, listen carefully. God is not a vending machine in heaven. He is not there to dispense treats because you pushed the right prayer button. He is your Father. A vending machine gives sugar. A father gives what builds life. Sometimes that means sweetness. Sometimes that means medicine. The wiser gift is not always the easier one.
Drop the Tip: Earthly blessings may slip through your hands without permission. Eternal blessings do not. So hold Christ harder than the gift, because the blessing that matters most is the one no loss can touch.