There is nothing more terrible than suffering without understanding the meaning or purpose of that suffering.
The other day, as I was driving into my very quiet street to get home, I noticed that there were a variety of markings made on the road in paint.
There were lines and arrows and circles and words written along the whole length of the road. And being an Australian citizen all my life, I am very familiar with that that really means. It means that in the coming weeks the quiet roads that lead me home are going to be torn up and re-done.
And this is not really a surprise as the unprecedented rain over the last year or so has caused the roads to become riddled with potholes. And because it is the local council’s job to sort this out and use rate-payer money to ensure that the roads are in working order, the council are obviously working towards a solution here.
And I have been thinking about that today because those markings on the road are not unlike the signs of eternal life.
You see, when a road is repaired – especially a small quiet road that is the ONLY way to enter and exit various properties – it is a huge inconvenience. In fact, what happens is that the roads get closed off and residents have to take detours or WAIT for the various workers to get things done before they can use the road at all – even to enter or exit their own properties…
And this is not dissimilar to the suffering required for eternal life. You see, the markings on the road are the signs that there is something more than we can physically see in this lifetime. After all, just seeing those markings is a signal that there are better things to come in the future for us and once we appreciate that it means that we are able to understand that just as there is a new road coming, there is also a new life eternal!
And the road works to complete the construction of that road are like suffering in this lifetime. It is painful and inconvenient. It perhaps delays us in our plans for our Earthly life – after all, nothing is as disruptive as a relationship breakdown, serious illness, injury or death – but the end result is most definitely worthwhile. All that suffering and inconvenience is for a REASON – for a purpose! And the purpose is for a NEW road, and – in the case of our spiritual life – the suffering is for a NEW Eternal Life through Christ!
And I firmly believe that there is nothing more terrible than suffering without understanding the meaning or purpose of that suffering. Without understanding the PURPOSE of suffering a soul feels alone and unloved in their suffering. But seeing suffering as a purpose or a means to an end means that souls are able to OFFER that suffering – thereby effectively taking control of it – so that the soul can UNITE it to the Sacred Suffering of Christ! And in this way the soul can GIVE their suffering to God.
And just as the new road will be a pleasure to use and worth all the inconvenience, so too will Eternal Life be a pleasure and worth all the suffering!
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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