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Faith

The bittersweet gift

We tend to remember most experiences in life as either good or bad, but most experiences are both good and bad at the same time. The gospel is like that: good news for those who accept it, but bad news for those who do not; great hope for the future, but at the cost of leaving the past behind; the promise of a fantastic new community, but not all those you love may choose to join. John tells of a similar bittersweet experience in the 10th chapter of the Revelation:

The voice which I had heard from heaven spoke to me again, “Go and take the open scroll in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and the land.”I went up to the angel and asked him to give me the small scroll. He answered, “Take it, and eat it. It will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.” I took the small scroll from the angel’s hand, and ate it. It was as sweet as honey in my mouth. When I had eaten it, my stomach was bitter.

God does not promise that our journey with him will be free of pain or remorse. If we faithfully follow Paul’s example as a disciple, life might become very difficult indeed at times and we can expect to experience abuse, persecution and long periods of physical and mental hardship. What God does promise is that in the end it will all be worth it.