By His suffering
our Lord eased our suffering. He endured the greatest of pain and emerged as
the Victor. That is why He can encourage us in our lesser sufferings. He
suffered and endured in righteousness while we suffer and endure in expiating
our own sins. This is why He can doubly remind us to endure to the end as He,
the Sinless One, endured. Not one of us has helped nor alleviated His pains and
endurance, yet He stands alongside each one of us when we suffer and alleviates
our pains and misfortunes. That is why He has the right to tell each one who
suffers for His Name's sake: "Do not be afraid! Do not be afraid of
anything that you are going to suffer," says Christ, for I alone have
endured all suffering and am familiar with them. I was not frightened at not a
single suffering. I received them upon Myself and, in the end, overcame them
all. I did not overcome them by dismissing them or fleeing from them but
receiving them all upon Myself voluntarily and enduring them all to the end.
And so you also should accept voluntary suffering, for I see and know how much
and for how long you can endure.
If your suffering
should continue to death itself and if it is the cause of your death,
nevertheless, do not be afraid; "I will give you the crown of life."
I will crown you with immortal life in which I reign eternally with the Father
and the Life-Giving Spirit. God did not send you to earth to live comfortably,
rather to prepare for eternal life. It would be a great tragedy if your Creator
were unable to give you a better, longer, and brighter life than that which is
on earth which reeks of decay and death and is shorter than the life of a
raven.
O my brethren,
let us listen to the words of the Lord and all of our sufferings will be
alleviated. If the blows of the world seem as hard as stones, they will become
as the foam of the sea when we obey the Lord.
O Victorious
Lord, teach us more about Your long-suffering; and when we become exhausted,
extend Your hand and sustain us.
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