Comments on: The Response to Suffering http://www.joelslife.com/2010/01/the-way-of-the-cross/ A Digital Conversation Mon, 02 Aug 2010 19:56:08 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 By: JSmith http://www.joelslife.com/2010/01/the-way-of-the-cross/comment-page-1/#comment-249 JSmith Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:47:50 +0000 http://www.joelslife.com/?p=747#comment-249 Thanks you Patricia. I agree. God's love is indeed absolute. Thanks you Patricia. I agree. God’s love is indeed absolute.

]]> By: patriciazell http://www.joelslife.com/2010/01/the-way-of-the-cross/comment-page-1/#comment-248 patriciazell Mon, 01 Feb 2010 01:21:41 +0000 http://www.joelslife.com/?p=747#comment-248 Hi, Joel! The reason I understand Isaiah 25:6-8 to be about the return of Christ is that the wording in verse 8 is the same that is in Revelation 21:4. The beauty of God's absolute love is that it is greater than all the evil in our world. We just have to work through all the deceptions we believe until we come to the place where we can see the power of what His love has accomplished through Jesus Christ. God's absolute love--perfect, complete, and real! Hi, Joel!

The reason I understand Isaiah 25:6-8 to be about the return of Christ is that the wording in verse 8 is the same that is in Revelation 21:4. The beauty of God’s absolute love is that it is greater than all the evil in our world. We just have to work through all the deceptions we believe until we come to the place where we can see the power of what His love has accomplished through Jesus Christ. God’s absolute love–perfect, complete, and real!

]]> By: JSmith http://www.joelslife.com/2010/01/the-way-of-the-cross/comment-page-1/#comment-247 JSmith Sun, 31 Jan 2010 16:09:09 +0000 http://www.joelslife.com/?p=747#comment-247 Patricia, thank you for your response. I think we must make a judgement as to the "rightness" of a belief. We judge, and teach our children to judge, people and situations every day; when to cross the road, when to trust a stranger, etc. What we must be careful to not do is condemn. Regarding Isaiah 25, God in Christ has set the banquet table and has swallowed up death by his death. He has turned sorrow into joy. That's the reason why all Christians have within them the capacity to be at peace with all me. Not a peace that is devoid of conflict, but a peace that is rooted in the reality of the cross. Thanks be to God. Patricia, thank you for your response. I think we must make a judgement as to the “rightness” of a belief. We judge, and teach our children to judge, people and situations every day; when to cross the road, when to trust a stranger, etc. What we must be careful to not do is condemn.

Regarding Isaiah 25, God in Christ has set the banquet table and has swallowed up death by his death. He has turned sorrow into joy. That’s the reason why all Christians have within them the capacity to be at peace with all me. Not a peace that is devoid of conflict, but a peace that is rooted in the reality of the cross. Thanks be to God.

]]> By: patriciazell http://www.joelslife.com/2010/01/the-way-of-the-cross/comment-page-1/#comment-246 patriciazell Sun, 31 Jan 2010 15:37:47 +0000 http://www.joelslife.com/?p=747#comment-246 While God has nothing to do with evil (James 1:13-18), He knows the battle against us. In John 10:10, Christ specifically said his purpose in coming was that we might have the life more abundant than the loss, death, and destruction the thief has brought into the world. Instead of judging other people, let's go into our prayer closets and ask God how to pray and how to love. Then let's believe Him for the manifestation of Isaiah 25:6-8. While God has nothing to do with evil (James 1:13-18), He knows the battle against us. In John 10:10, Christ specifically said his purpose in coming was that we might have the life more abundant than the loss, death, and destruction the thief has brought into the world. Instead of judging other people, let’s go into our prayer closets and ask God how to pray and how to love. Then let’s believe Him for the manifestation of Isaiah 25:6-8.

]]> By: JSmith http://www.joelslife.com/2010/01/the-way-of-the-cross/comment-page-1/#comment-245 JSmith Sun, 31 Jan 2010 15:23:23 +0000 http://www.joelslife.com/?p=747#comment-245 Thanks Gail. The greatest example of love is Christ on the cross. This means that true love comes with a cost and that we should not expect that being Christian means no pain or sorrow. This mindset will only create more suffering. Christ came to enter into our suffering and redeem it for His purposes. This is what it means to take up our cross and follow Him. Thanks Gail. The greatest example of love is Christ on the cross. This means that true love comes with a cost and that we should not expect that being Christian means no pain or sorrow. This mindset will only create more suffering. Christ came to enter into our suffering and redeem it for His purposes. This is what it means to take up our cross and follow Him.

]]> By: Gail Hyatt http://www.joelslife.com/2010/01/the-way-of-the-cross/comment-page-1/#comment-244 Gail Hyatt Sun, 31 Jan 2010 14:51:49 +0000 http://www.joelslife.com/?p=747#comment-244 This is what it means to be like Christ: To enter the world of suffering and give. To offer LOVE; real love, help, aid, healing, comfort, consolation, perspective, something transcendent, something eternal. It makes me think of this quote from St. John Chrysostom: "The rich exist of for the sake of the poor. The poor [substitute the hurt, suffering, dying] exist for the salvation of the rich." This is what it means to be like Christ: To enter the world of suffering and give. To offer LOVE; real love, help, aid, healing, comfort, consolation, perspective, something transcendent, something eternal.

It makes me think of this quote from St. John Chrysostom: “The rich exist of for the sake of the poor. The poor [substitute the hurt, suffering, dying] exist for the salvation of the rich.”

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