Читать книгу Beyond the Horizon - Harry A. Renfree - Страница 31

January 25

In his book Storm Warning, Billy Graham tells of an incident that occurred while he was traveling in an Eastern European country, then under Communist domination.

Traveling with him was an Orthodox priest. One day while the usual swarm of media representatives surrounded them, the Orthodox priest said to Dr. Graham, “Every believer has a cross. I know what ours is. But I wondered what yours was.” Then looking out over the crowd of reporters standing before Dr. Graham, the priest said simply, “Now I know.”8

“Every believer has a cross.” That seems to fly in the face of the idea that when one becomes a Christian, all difficulties are over. Not so. Jesus Himself said—to his followers—“In this world you will have trouble.”

When Saul of Tarsus, later called Paul, met Jesus face to face on the Damascus road, Ananias of Damascus was directed to be a messenger of healing to the blinded Saul. “The Lord said to Ananias ‘Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles . . . I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’” (Acts 9:15–16).

Yes, as the priest said, “Every believer has a cross.”

Didn’t Jesus say, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). The purpose is found in the second half of the verse in John that I referred to earlier. Jesus did say, “In this world you will have trouble,” but then He added: “But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33b, c).

“Indeed,” writes Paul, “we share in his [Christ’s] sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory” (Romans 8:17b).