In a world that is filled with so much suffering and pain having the right perspective can sometimes make all the difference. And may I submit to you that only Christianity can help us make sense in life when life doesn’t seem to make sense at all.
My friends when life throws you a painful curveball, I pray you realize that even if it lasts for a lifetime it won’t last for an eternity. You see, for the Christian, our lives on earth are training grounds for eternity. And often God uses pain and afflictions as His tools to mold us more into the image of Christ. The Bible never promises us a pain free life but it does tell us that the duration is only temporary. And once we hit the celestial shores of heaven we will see and understand that our pain was indeed but for a moment and will now be replaced by a permanent and eternal state of joy, bliss, and pleasure!
Pastor John Piper summed up the eternal continuum of time well for the Christian when he said: “Suffering for Jesus is temporary. Pleasure in Jesus is eternal.”1 Having an eternal perspective on life is the only way life can make sense to the millions who have to endure extreme poverty, lack of food, severe physical pain, and life long disabilities. While we should never downplay these conditions, the Scriptures share two special verses that give all those in Christ the eternal hope that in the end these very difficult conditions will seem so temporary and insignificant when measured against our eternal state.
For we read: “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” (2 Corinthians 4:17). And: “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:18). Notice in both of these verses we are going to be partakers of the glory of God, and that to me is the most awesome and exciting thing in all the universe. Not only that but our new home, the new earth, will be filled with, as I shared above, permanent and eternal joy, bliss, and pleasure!
In conclusion, in my book eternal pleasures with Jesus trump temporary suffering, even if they are lifelong, every time. For the Christian having the certainty of eternal life is the only antidote when one is going through a lifelong battle of pain and suffering. For without this certainty of eternal life there can be no way to reconcile how unfair life is for those who are going through a lifetime of suffering here on earth.
1 https://www.wisefamousquotes.com/quotes-about-jesus-suffering/