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So I'll admit that I have a hard time rejoicing in my sufferings... I mostly wallow in my sufferings, ignoring everyone else and only focusing on my pain. I am an expert wallow-er.
Paul didn't have time for that, though. He was too focused on what his suffering might achieve for others. His eyes were firmly fixed upon how the Gospel was advancing and trying to play whatever small role he could in what God was doing in the world. There wasn't a community too small for him to pour his life into supporting.
God's work was being revealed, and Paul grasped what so much of the world has missed -- that the truth of the Gospel is riches beyond measure, riches beyond anything this world can promise. Paul understood that the eternal truth of God's great love for us, promising hope and life to all, inviting those with no money and no wealth to come to the storeroom of God and receive wealth beyond what this world can measure. Paul saw this -- and Paul saw that the world didn't fully grasp this kind of wealth, so he spent his life trying to tell people that there were riches beyond what they could see and that they were available for free.
The same message is here for us today. The world understands conventional riches, and visual opulence is everywhere. But to show people riches that are wrapped in a mystery that is able to transcend death... this is far harder. It is a challenge worthy of our lives, worthy of our sufferings, even, if we can communicate the wonders of God's great love.
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