No Suffering

Three people have brought up an idea to me since Easter services: many people in my generation and my children's generation (in the US) have never suffered -- and their character is mushy. My grandmother used to tell me my generation were wimps; her generation came through the Depression, WWII, the cold war. For some of us our biggest struggle was making a choice between 42 good options. And we've been inconvenienced at the airport because of terrorist threats.

"7But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead." (Paul, writing in Philippians 3, emphasis mine)

Note: I am not saying that individuals have not struggled. This is a sin-corrupted world, and living in community is hard. Lonliness, fear, and anger abound.

Perhaps we should look at the 1780's and 1790's for an illustration. Things were going very well for the new United states in the 1780's. But the 1790's were some of the worst years in our history. There wasn't a major external threat to the country. But the economy collapsed, alcoholism was rampant, crime soared, families came unglued -- if Britain had not had her own problems, they could probably have come back and reclaimed their colonies! And then look at what God did -- the Great Awakening of 1800-1802. This created an amazing transformation of the culture.

I don't believe time is a circle. But historical experience has helical qualities; we see similar patterns recurring, as if we're on that "side" of the helix again.