In The Master's Service

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SOUGHT HELP FROM SOURCE

Elder R. K. Blackshear (deceased)  From "Good Will" Oct. 1956

I noticed in a newspaper a few days ago, an article written by a lady to an evangelist, in which she was seeking comfort and understanding concerning the loss of several members of her family in the past two years. She wanted the preacher to tell her why these things were, stating that she tried to be a Christian.

Many things the preacher told her were good, about as well said as mortal man could say
them, but he said some things that were wrong and left off others that could have been said. The lady seemed to think that the fact that she tried to be a Christian should immune her from much suffering, and living a Christian life WILL save her and others from having to suffer many things in this life that they would have to suffer otherwise, but it will not stay the hand of death, nor relieve from physical suffering incidental to mortal life. If living a Christian life would keep our loved ones from ever dying, then it would surely keep us from dying, and heaven would not be sure for all the redeemed of the Lord.

But living a Christian life will not ward off sickness, pain and death, and I feel that this preacher should have pointed this out to her. He could have then consoled her with the thought that, while God's grace will not keep suffering from us, it will give us strength to bear it and cause us to rejoice even while we suffer. I feel that this preacher should have pointed this out to her. I feel that the lady was a child of
God, and she was letting human reasoning, prompted by Satan, tell her that it does not pay to serve God, for if it did she would not have had the troubles she had recently endured. This line of reasoning is common to all God's people, but when the spiritual mind reasserts itself we are made to know that there are certain laws of nature that must be carried out whether we are Christians or not. I believe the child of God who lives a Christian life will be spared many sorrows that others bear, but those sorrows are in the spiritual realm and not the natural. Of course we can ruin our health by dissipation and this will cause us to suffer, and we don't have to do this, but the law of God is that we will all have to go the way of all the earth, even though we are Christians, and in that sense we will suffer losses and crosses whether we serve God or not. But the child of God who does serve God will have the comfort of His Spirit even when sorrows and losses come.

This preacher then told her about Paul saying that "All things work together for good to them who love God," and reminded her that we could all have that relationship with God through faith in His Son Jesus Christ. It seemed strange that a man so evidently well read has not already learned that faith in Christ is the EVIDENCE of our relationship with God and NOT the cause of it. Faith is the fruit of the Spirit, and the new birth brings God's children into possession of the Spirit, so they don't have faith until they are related to God.