The Citizen, 2018-6-14, Page 16PAGE 16. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JUNE 14, 2018.
From the Minister's Study
Afflictions from God hard to comprehend
By Ernest Dow, Assoc. Pastor
Huron Chapel EMC, Auburn
Driving to work after leaving my
wife in the capable supervision of a
Huron Hospice volunteer, my
attention was arrested by the podcast
speaker's statement: "God designs
all the afflictions of the godly for the
increase of their everlasting joy."
What?! God actually intends or
designs afflictions for those who are
His? This goes against the tendency
of many faithful to try to absolve
God of any responsibility for bad
things that happen; we instead prefer
to blame our woes on attacks from
Satan.
The problem of pain and suffering
has added poignancy for me recently
since my wife's brain tumour, 15
years after her initial lobectomy,
returned with a vengeance between
her routine November, 2017 and
March, 2018 MRI scans. Measuring
22 millimetres and upgraded to an
aggressive Grade 4 category, it
prompted the neuroncologist to say
she was now "probably palliative,"
the end of the line was coming into
view. Nevertheless, the
neuroncologist and radiologist both
approved further treatment to stave
off progression of the disease, so my
wife has received the benefit of
further radiation and chemotherapy.
Still, there have been disturbing
signs: her inability to communicate
more than an occasional dubious
"yes" or "no", her lack of balance,
resulting in numerous falls, and just
this past Sunday while standing to
sing at church, her legs had given out
on her, requiring other members of
the congregation to assist me getting
her back into her chair. Prospects
were not bright.
A natural and even logical
response might be to become angry
and bitter, blaming fate for this
preempting of what are normally
hoped to be happier, `golden', more
relaxed, retirement years. All but one
of our dozen grandchildren are just
10 years old or under. One begins to
survey wistfully the social media
posts of colleagues who are jetting
off to exotic tourist spots at this stage
of life.
Disease and affliction can prompt
angry reactions. One friend posted
on social media the news of a young
twenty -something mother of four
who suddenly found out she had a
brain tumour. At the end of the post,
amongst various other hashtags, was
included the increasingly popular
expletive, "#f ---cancer". Is that the
most profound thing we can say
when circumstances take a nosedive
for us? Do we have a right, is our
cause just, to lash out angrily when it
becomes apparent our life may be
terminated unexpectedly pre-
maturely and painfully?
This makes the statement by the
podcast speaker, John Piper, all the
more startling... "God designs all the
afflictions of the godly for the
increase of their everlasting joy."
Piper was defending his portrayal of
New England Puritan theologian
Jonathan Edwards as a Christian
hedonist. Piper went on to
paraphrase Edwards' sentiment thus:
"In other words, the only troubles
that God permits in the lives of his
children are those that will bring
more pleasure than trouble with
them — when all things are
considered" This would make it
more palatable to speak of God
`designing' afflictions for our joy's
increase, if it can be shown that they
will make our endstate ultimately
more joyful. The troubles will be
worth it.
To back up this assertion, Piper
notes Edwards cites four Biblical
references: `Blessed are you when
others revile you and persecute you
and utter all kinds of evil against you
falsely on my account. Rejoice and
be glad, for your reward is great in
heaven" (Matthew 5:11-12) "Count
it all joy, my brothers, when you
meet trials of various kinds, for you
know that the testing of your faith
produces steadfastness." (James 1:2-
3) "Then they left the presence of
the council, rejoicing that they were
counted worthy to suffer dishonour
for the name" (Acts 5:41) "You
joyfully accepted the plundering of
your property, since you knew that
you yourselves had a better
possession and an abiding one"
(Hebrews 10:34)
References one, three, and four
seem to be more in the context of
blatant persecution rather than
suffering in general. Still, there are
some relevant inductions that can be
made. There is a reward in heaven
that corresponds to our difficulties
on earth. It is possible to rejoice
despite suffering, when the
connection can be made between our
suffering and the honour of Christ's
name. And, a "better" and abiding
possession awaits believers in the
next life, even if this present earthly
one comes up short.
To me, it seems the quotation from
James is most broadly applicable to
our troubles in general. God allows
us to experience trials so that our
faith can be tested it proves itself to
be "the real McCoy" and this testing
produces steadfastness, un-
rockability of conviction.
A similar thought is found in
Hebrews 12: "Endure hardship as
discipline... God disciplines us for
our good, that we may share in His
holiness. No discipline seems
pleasant at the time, but painful.
Later on, however, it produces a
harvest of righteousness and peace
lou re 9nt ileCf l( 7eiu (, s S1 n 'Worship
SUNDAYS
Morning Service 10:00 am
Evening Service 7:30 pm
BLYTH CHRISTIAN
REFORMED CHURCH
4\&
Minister: Pastor Gary van Leeuwen
Hwy. 4, Blyth www.blythcrc.ca 519-523-4743
The Regional Ministry of Hope
Everyone Welcome!
Trinity Anglican Church St. John's Anglican Church
BLYTH BRUSSELS
CZ 9:15 am 11:15am
MINISTRY OFFICE
519-357-4883
Rev. JoAnn Todd, Rector
email: revjoann@hurontel.on.ca
The Regional Ministry of Hope
COME WORSHIP WITH US!
MELVILLE
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
BRUSSELS
SUNDAY, JUNE 17
We invite you to join our church family in:
Worship & Sunday School - 11 am
Coffee & Snacks following the service
Come out and meet our new minister, Rev. Charmila Ireland
Fridays 11:30 am - 1:00 pm - Soup & More 2
- a free community meal held in Melville's basement, and
made possible by the Brussels churches working together.
Nursery care available
519-887-6687
Blyth United Church
Est. 1875
Worship Service
at 9:30 am
Office Hours:
Tuesday & Thursday
9:30 am - 2:00 pm
blythunited@tcc.on.ca
6. Accessible In Facebook: Blyth and Brussels United Churches
OFFICE: 519-523-4224
for those who have been trained by
it" (Heb 12:7a,10b-11) God has
designed trials to produce the end
result of holiness and righteousness.
He's grooming us to reflect His
character, rather than just for our
comfort.
The Lord Jesus expressed
something similar when describing
God's overall growth plan for us
using the familiar metaphor of a
grape vine and its branches. Not
only do we need to remain
connected to Christ as the `vine' and
source of sustenance, we need to be
prepared to accept the `pruning' of
the Divine Gardener. "...Every
branch that does bear fruit He prunes
so that it will be even more fruitful...
This is to my Father's glory, that you
bear much fruit, showing yourselves
to be my disciples." (John 15:2b,8)
There are no shortcuts to
fruitfulness! Our steadfast trust in
our Sovereign God in the face of
hardship, convinced that He knows
what He's doing despite all
appearances to the contrary, brings
honour and glory to God.
Another Scripture promise I cling
to in this regard comes from one of
the apostles who suffered most
severely, Paul, who wrote: "Praise
Continued on page 17
BRUSSELS
United Church
Join us June 17 at 11:00 am
Worship leadership by pastors
from Huron/Perth
Note: July worship time is changing to 9:30 am
Everyone Welcome
Huron Chapel Summer Services
Will Be @ 10:OOam
beginning this Sunday in Auburn
huronchapel.com
You're Invited
to come worsh p
with us
Sunday, June 17
at 10:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
650 Alexander St. (former Brussels Public School)
Sunday School for children
4 to 12 years of age at 9:30 a.m.
Childcare provided for infants and preschoolers
during the sermon.
Coffee & cookies after the morning service.
For additional details please contact Pastor Andrew Versteeg 519.887.8621
Steve Klumpenhower 519.292.0965 Rick Packer 519.527.0173
Coming Soon! Vacation Bible School
July 2-6 - Ages 5-12
THE CATHOLIC PARISHES OF NORTH HURON AND NORTH PERTH
CORDIALLY INVITE YOU TO ATTEND HOLY MASS.
OUR SUNDAY LITURGIES ARE AS FOLLOWS:
Brussels:
St. Ambrose
Saturday
6:00 p.m.
17 Flora Street
Wingham:
Sacred Heart
Sunday
9:00 a.m.
220 Carling Terrace
Listowel:
St. Joseph's
Sunday
11:00 a.m.
1025 Wallace Avenue N.