Christians have an interesting relationship with suffering. We follow a suffering Savior who assures us that we, like him, will have to bear a cross. We suffer the consequences of living in a world stained by sin, the consequences of our own depravity, the consequences of our association with Jesus. It is no surprise, then, that Christians have created a whole body of work dedicated to suffering. Some great Christian classics and many powerful sermons explore why we suffer and propose how we can suffer well. Our forebears have left us well equipped when our time comes. I am an avid collector of quotes and find that many of the best ones are meant to comfort the sorrowful. “There is no commentary that opens up the Bible so much as sickness and sorrow,” says J.C. Ryle. Spurgeon says, “I am certain that I never did grow in grace one-half so much anywhere as I have upon the bed of pain.” Then there’s Piper: “I have never heard anyone say, ‘The really deep lessons of life have come through times of ease and comfort’.” I could dig up a hundred more. Suffering is often lauded as a key, and perhaps the key to growth and maturity. As we read quotes like these, and as we read the books and sermons they are drawn from, we can easily arrive at the impression that there is a necessary relationship between suffering and character. We can come to believe there can be no maturity without suffering, that suffering is the … Continue reading Do I Really Need To Suffer?