A While … #suffering
“But the God of all grace, who has called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.” – 1 Peter 5:10
The first time I saw a planet comparison of our universe, earth looked huge. Then they showed us Uranus and the earth shrunk. Then they showed us Saturn and Uranus shrunk. Then they showed us Jupiter and Saturn shrunk. Then they showed us the Sun and Jupiter shrunk while the earth became a dot. Then they really blew our minds by showing us the Sun compared to Betelgeuse – and the Sun became a dot – and earth disappeared altogether.
In the same way, the comparison factor in the verse above is huge. In the infinite universe of ‘ALL grace’, ‘ETERNAL glory’ awaits after we have suffered ‘a while’. The Greek word for “a while” means, “little, small, few, or light; PUNY in - extent, degree, duration, number, or value”. Our sufferings that seem so huge today will be seen as a “dot” or disappear altogether … “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” – (2 Corinthians 4:17).
This hymn was written by James G. Deck, a British man who spent over half his life in military service. As a soldier He understood well …
“A little while” our Lord shall come,
And we shall wander here no more;
He’ll take us to our Father’s home,
Where He for us has gone before,
To dwell with Him, to see His face,
And sing the glories of His grace.
“A little while” will soon be past;
Why should we shun the shame and cross?
O let us in His footsteps haste,
Counting for Him all else but loss;
O how will recompense His smile
The sufferings of this “little while!”
Amen.
