Suffering Is Our Medicine
A New Year conversation with Mama about heaven, John 3:16, and what it means to truly believe in Christ instead of going through the motions of duty.
My mama asked me once, “Is heaven real?”
It was a quiet conversation. Just the two of us.
“Yes, ma. That is what the Bible says.”
“For God so loved the world that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16.
“If there is no heaven, ma, our whole life will just be about sickness and pain. Then we die.”
“There is no meaning. There is no sense.”
“That’s why, I choose to believe Christ. I choose to believe in a meaningful life.”
In the middle of suffering and death, we choose to believe God is real. We choose to put our faith in Him.
But true faith is not only a matter of the mind.
My inner voice used to answer questions like that with empty words.
“I made the right decisions. I will be saved.”
If you have ever told yourself that, I have been there.
Even the devils know God is real. They know Jesus. They do not worship Him. They hate Him. They have the right knowledge. They do not love Him.
It is not our brains that save us. It is not what we say. It is not the traditions we grew up with.
True love for the Lord is loving Him when no one is looking. True love for the Lord is loving Him when your world is collapsing.
Many of us live our Christian faith like cheating wives.
She says and does all the good things for her husband. But it is all for duty. Not one bit of love. At night, she goes to her paramour. That is where she feels the love she truly wants.
She has the ability to love her husband. She has the opportunity. She has no desire.
We go to church on Sunday for duty. We think we are being faithful. Then Monday to Saturday, God is not the boss. God is not significant. In our heart, He is only a tiny little thought.
Suffering is our medicine. It gives us child-like joy in Christ. It heals us from ourselves.
If you are as desperate as a dying old man, you will not want money. You will not want beauty. You will not want fame. You will only want one thing. Eternal life.
This new year, I want one aim. I am praying we will truly have the desire. The ability. The opportunity. To be happy in God forever.
If you truly want to desire Christ, pray with me today. Just one sentence.
Our Father in Heaven. Help me believe. Help me to truly believe in Christ. Give me a new heart capable of loving You the way I should.
We are just a small dot in God’s vast universe.
It is not about perfection. It is about direction.
For the glory of God.
— Lala