Dr. Meyer, candidate for Associate Pastor for Preaching and Vision, was interviewed last week by Pastor Sam Crabtree. The very last question dealt with suffering, and I found his spontaneous response helpful. It is about five minutes.
You can watch the entire 75 minute interview here.
The Works of God 
That is the first word I have heard from him…and it was a good first word. Can’t wait to hear more!
How we balance the reality that if I am fullfilled by MY future in Heaven, then waht about my loved ones that may be suffering or may not know Christ after years of exposure to His word. Isn’t it selfish to be content only in MY future joy?
Jose, it is a good thing to long for the salvation of our loved ones! Paul, who taught us about joy in Christ, suffered greatly as he thought about his kinsmen:
I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit—that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.(Romans 9:1-3 ESV)
Pray earnestly for them – do not ever stop wanting their best, which is only through Jesus Christ. One of my favorite stories is a friend who prayed for her father for 40 years without any evidence of faith. Then, one day, God opened his eyes and his last years were full of hope in God.
But the hope was not in how long she prayed, but in the one who owns it all and has sovereign authority over it all. God is love (1 John 4:16) and he is entirely trustworthy. You can entirely enjoy him and trust him and look forward to an incredible eternity with Jesus AND earnestly pursue the good of your loved ones with tears and prayers for their salvation because you want them to experience the same thing. There is no contradiction in Paul when he wrote “as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” (2 Corinthians 6:10).
Please, happily cling to Jesus as your source of hope and joy, and ask him to bring your loved ones to him, to give you strength to pursue their good for as long as he gives you breath, and to have them see your hope and contentment and long for the same thing in Jesus.
Thank so much for your words, I sometimes find myself in distress at the church when singing, a lot of songs focus on “rejoice, you have a place in haven, and Christ will be there” but I still have the sting om my chest for my loved ones.
It is so great that this space”Works of God” is open, I stumble upon it by Gods grace, it is so difficult to live with a person with a disability, specially the mental ones, so much pain. I think there must be a special kind of care for the families in the churches, there is so much struggle and I believe there is a Huge space for showing the love of Christ among brothers in this area.
Pray for me, that I may find God´s path for my life in this.