From Anglican Mainstream.
In this time of year where we wish to have good will towards all and peace and harmony, we try to avoid the stories in life that let us know that amidst this good season there are people who suffer. Oft times the stories that are related are children who by no fault of their own contract terrible diseases or natural disasters decimating the poorest villages in Haiti. The pictures of such suffering on the news are sad beyond measure. It is often baffling to us why such events occur because in our mind and heart, we think the wicked should suffer; the good, kind, innocent and righteous should flourish. When this isn’t the case we are often confused about the role of God. In today’s Epistle, Paul addresses that that by speaking about the inevitability of suffering for the believer.