Shrivel or Expansion
We have seen in recent years many examples of people who have suffered greatly yet have become greater human beings, such as Malala Yousafza who was shot by the Taliban, or in the previous generation Nelson Mandela imprisoned through apartheid. Suffering can either destroy and shrivel you or it can expand you. Paul Tillich the theologian says ‘what suffering does is that it takes you beneath the everyday of life and reminds you that you are not who you thought you were. It carves in to the floor of the basement of your soul or what you thought was the floor and carves through that to reveal a cavity below and carves through that to reveal a cavity below’. Moments of suffering introduce you to yourself and you can see that there is so much more. Jesus said take up the cross and follow. Invite someone to take a closer look at Christ and his church.
