Suffering with Christ

Human life is not free of suffering: if we stop to think about situations of pain we have had, or about the miseries of society, we will realize that there is often suffering. There is no one in human history who has never suffered. But, there is something we can do when we are under its influence: cling to Christ, for he was the only one who suffered unjustly for the wickedness of people to give salvation to everyone who believes in him, by dying on the cross and resurrecting on the 3rd day.

Christ helps us to draw strength from suffering, to endure pain, not to agonize when we go through tribulation, not to despair when everything goes wrong. Only Jesus can give us that resistance. Nobody else. No "coach", no spiritual leader, no sage can. Only Jesus. The hope of this world is vain, as it boils down to having a better life and having self-sufficiency. The problem is that there is death to put an end to these ambitions. Therefore, let us become more attached to Jesus because not even death can stop him from having a full life with him and from resurrecting us to a life of eternal joy with God.

However, sometimes, as people (or Christians), when we contemplate the misery of the world caused by sin, we tend to want to solve all the problems of the world. But, we must keep in mind that there will never be a human system that transforms this world into a paradise, because we are all corrupt and the same perishes in the hands of the Evil One. But this is no reason to despair, because one day Jesus will return and restore Creation, eliminating evil and its effects and we will no longer have the hassle of problems to deal with. We may suffer now, but there will come a day when there will be no more pain and we will have full lives with Jesus. And in every moment of suffering, Jesus will be with us, strengthening us and guiding us so that we come out more and more centered on Him, because we have God as Lord and Father. As a Lord, he gives us what we need to live, and as a Father, he does it with love.

When we remember the attributes of God in the face of life's problems, we realize what the apostle Paul said when he said (paraphrasing): that the light and momentary tribulation we have now cannot be compared with the glory that is to come. The life and pains we have here are fleeting, but the future life of eternal joy guaranteed by God is real. The sufferings that we have here throughout our lives cannot be compared with the eternity of time of rejoicing with the Creator in Paradise. We must bear this in mind.