The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

2 Corinthians 1:3-5, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort;

4 who comforts us in all our affliction so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

5 For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.”

I had just concluded a Sunday morning message when a terribly burdened GI rushed to the front and asked, “If God is as great as you say He is, why does He make my mother suffer so?” It was a legitimate question from an obviously painful heart. I answered the young soldier’s question as best as I could, leaning heavily on the LORD for my response.

Pain and suffering may be humanity’s greatest foes. Why is there so much pain and suffering in the world?

The answer, of course, is sin. Adam and Eve knew nothing of either trouble until they sinned. But sin is like a lot of things in that once it enters the arena (of humanity or one’s individual life), it multiplies and spreads and defies our best attempts to eradicate it.

Still, pain and suffering have their place. Paul says that the LORD comforts us in our affliction, so that we “may be able to comfort those who are in…affliction” themselves. That may seem to be an

unnecessary method of teaching us how to comfort others, but it works. As a pastor, I’ve had numerous opportunities to minister comfort to those who had lost a loved one. To the best of my recollection, I have said all the right and proper things to those in sorrow. Yet, when I lost my sweet wife of almost 64 years, I experienced the suffering for myself. Oh, I still repeat the same Scripture passages to those who suffer, but I do it as I relive my own suffering.

The secret, it seems, lies in the verse that says, “…our comfort is abundant through Christ.” Could it be that He is instructing us to focus on the comfort He provides instead of the suffering? It might even be that our suffering comes from selfishness, self-centeredness, whereas His comfort is Divine-centered? In other words, the LORD want us to focus on Him! Where else can we find and receive comfort? And that focus dispels all that sin delivers; and we live and rejoice again!

May God bless and comfort you regardless of where you are in your walk with Him!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”