Better to have loved and lost

      In today's readings, this one and the other ( 1 Pet. 3:13-4:6 ), there is talk of suffering. I'm not certain it matters why you are going to suffer, we all do at some point in our lives. No one escapes some troubles or the toils of life. I do know that if you are going to suffer, it is a much better thing to have suffered for doing good. It is also much better to have suffered for having loved than  to suffer and not have loved at all.

      I suppose to some extent this suffering is looked at by some of the uber conservative Christian right as a badge of honor and justification for espousing the ate mongering and self righteousness they spew. The third line of this scripture applies to them. Indeed, an hour is coming when those who kill you will think that by doing so they are offering worship to God. It almost seems biblically sanctioned, they can yell that 'we are the one's being persecuted'. 

      The essence of truth though is seeing where love lies. Convoluted love that seems to portray God as some vindictive and legalistic monolith is false love. True love, empowers, enriches, embraces and accepts everyone.  Love is broad smiles without any hypocrisy or judgement. So if promoting your faith means putting others out or requires hatred or marginalizing your brothers or sisters, it just isn't love at all. You can shout "woe is me" all you like and spout scripture quotes all you like, it isn't love at all. Anyone can quote scriptures , cherry pick them if you will, take them out of context and twist them to their own purpose. That is not love.

        The real point is that we will suffer, whether beleivers or not.  It is not up to us to determine that our suffering is caused beacuse we beleive. It is enough to know that we will suffer. We should always avoid suffering of course, it's not something to seek. But suffering will find us.  In the suffering that befalls us though, it is always better to love and to emulate Jesus.

      ‘Tis better to have loved and lost, / Than never to have loved at all” - 

                                                                        ( Alfred, Lord Tennyson )

        

John 16:1-15

‘I have said these things to you to keep you from stumbling. They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, an hour is coming when those who kill you will think that by doing so they are offering worship to God. And they will do this because they have not known the Father or me. But I have said these things to you so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you about them.

‘I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, “Where are you going?” But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgement: about sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; about judgement, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.

‘I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

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