| The Ministry of Comfort |
Chapter 5 |
Page 7 |
But not thus should trouble affect us if we accept it as a trust from God. Not only should we endure it victoriously, sustained by Christ, but we should emerge from it ready for better service and for greater usefulness than ever before. We are told that Jesus was made perfect through suffering. He learned in His own experience of sorrow how to sympathize with His people in their sorrows and how to comfort them. One of the reasons for trouble is that in it we may be prepared for helping others in their troubles. Sorrow is a school, and we meet it as we should only when we learn the lessons and go out fitted for being a richer blessing in the world.
The problem of all true living is not to miss pain or trial, but in all experiences, however hard or bitter, to keep our heart ever sweet and our ministry of good and helpfulness ever uninterrupted. The keenest suffering should make us only the gentler in spirit and send us out to be yet more loving and thoughtful – a benediction to every one we meet.
“Such a heart I’d bear in my bosom
That, threading the crowded streets,
My face should shed joy unlooked for
On every poor soul one meets;
And such wisdom should crown my forehead
That, coming where counsels stand,
I should carry the thoughts of justice
And establish the weal of the land.”
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