There are two widely different kinds of people, and both are beloved of God: (a) those who skip through life with endless light-heartedness: “He that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast,” or otherwise translated, “He who has a cheerful disposition enjoys a lifelong picnic” (cf. Prov. 15:15, KJV). It seems the Lord crowns such a person with sunlit favor. Some of us are tempted to envy their constant upbeat smile and ready chuckles. They have their work to do for the Lord.
(b) But there are others for whom life seems an endless discipline from the Lord. The Psalmist concedes that “God is good to Israel [the good people], to such as are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled. ... All day long I have been plagued, and chastened every morning” (Psalm 73:1, 2, 14). The Bible is clear that the Lord loves them, too: “Whom the Lord loves, He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.” The apparently severe discipline “yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Heb. 12:6, 11).
Has the Lord given us the liberty to choose whether we want (a) or (b)? If so, we’d all go for (a). But probably all of “Israel” (the good people) experience a mixture of the two with the pain of discipline tempered by occasional sunlit days that are a relief from the dark, stormy ones. As the Psalmist said above, “God is good . ...” “The Lord ... will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not ... punished us according to our iniquities. ... The Lord pities those who fear [reverence] Him, ... for He remembers that we are dust.” If we will believe that truth, then we will “bless the Lord, O my soul!” (Psalm 103:8-14, 22).
But there is a special category of people beyond (a) or (b) that none of us knows quite how to classify just yet. They “rejoice to the extent that [they] partake of Christ’s sufferings” (1 Peter 4:13), which is a specially intimate “fellowship” with the Son of God (Phil. 3:10; 2 Cor. 1:7). Let’s not try to sugarcoat the experience. Frankly, it is “NOT joyful for the present, but grievous” (Heb. 12:11). If you can watch Baghdad’s current history (and the world’s!) through the eyes of Jesus, you won’t likely be joking around very much; you’ll be pretty serious. You’ll actually be sitting “in heavenly places in Christ” which may not be as much fun as we have always thought, but that’s what the coveted “adoption” entails (cf. Eph. 1:3, 5). Revelation 3:21 tells it clearly: if you are in fellowship with Christ you’ll be sharing with Him executive authority in closing the great controversy with Satan. The “government will be upon His shoulder”(Isa. 9:6), but you’ll be sharing its weight with Him. You will be working “with Him,” on His side, “called, and chosen, and faithful”(cf. Rev. 17:14), helping lift His burden.
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