God is a self-sharing God. He wants to share Himself with others. He wants to share His own deep experiences, not all joy, but grief – and it’s a privilege but it’s a painful privilege. I’ve always wondered about the words of Paul. He said, “That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection.” No problems, but the next one, “…the fellowship of His sufferings.” For many years I had to say, “God, I really can’t say that. I don’t even understand why he said it.” But I believe I’ve come to see that in sharing the Lord’s sufferings we come closer to Him. We know Him better than we would in any other way.

Patinka
Dalintis