Many years ago, I read a devotion in Our Daily Bread about a man who had the perfect perspective on pain and suffering. He had a permanent disability. When asked how does he cope knowing that his situation will never get better. I will never forget his response. He said though my disease is permanent, it is only temporary.
I like how Pastor John Piper put it when he said: “Suffering for Jesus is temporary. Pleasure in Jesus is eternal.”1
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!
Perhaps the Apostle Paul offered us the best perspective on suffering and pleasure when he shared these amazing verses: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).
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. But praise God for (Romans 8:18) which has down through the centuries given millions of suffering Christians comfort during their most difficult days: “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.”
In closing while a lifetime here on earth is long it is but a statistical blip in time when measured against eternity. And for the Christian eternity should always be their focus.
1 How Do I Follow Jesus When He Is Not Here? | Crossway Articles