Coyans in the Czech Republic

pain and suffering are a part of life
just as are disease and death
there are times when we must go to the hospital, the cancer must be removed, the infection cleaned
The knife must cut away what is bad
in the physical world this makes sense
we go willingly
we know what must be done
in order to LIVE
but what if this life, what we see around us, isn't all there really is?
what if the most important surgery requires no scalpel and draws no blood, but all the same opens us up and reveals what is inside
casting light on our secret places, our hidden selves
the bad that is within us
would we willingly climb up on the operating table or would we try to escape from the surgeon?
in order to LIVE
the cancer must be removed, the infection cleaned

it is advent...a time of reflection
I am reflecting on who I am and on what lurks inside me.
as I reflect on a friend who is in the hospital having a physical cancer carved from her body I wonder what spiritual cancers must be carved from mine.
advent...as we await He who healed us all
He who took on all of our cancers and infections, willingly...no crawling off the table
advent...a baby born to die so that we may LIVE
advent...
"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." (Romans 8:18)

"Yet I am always with you; You hold me by my right hand. You guide me with Your counsel, and afterward You will take me into glory…My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." (Psalm 73:23-24, 26)

In our suffering, Jesus is there with us...we are not alone.
http://www.soundofgrace.com/piper81/041781.htm