Suffering

God did not create suffering in the world. Rather, suffering was introduced into the world by the exercise of man’s free will to be separate from God and raise himself to the level of God. Yet, even though suffering is an unfortunate by-product of this unfortunate choice (by the first man), it is also the means by which redemption from it comes.

A good metaphor for this concept would be the poison of a snake. We use it as a means to build an effective antidote to it. In like manner, suffering is the path to developing an effective remedy for it.

To grasp the truth of this spiritual concept, one need only reflect on why Jesus willed Himself to endure an incredible amount of physical and mental agony (and ultimately die on a tree) in order to bridge the spiritual divide between God and man.

Learn to embrace suffering with a loving outlook, and in doing so, peace will rest within you.

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