The Roman Empire was beginning to persecute the early Church in earnest. Peter wrote to the church to re-assure them. Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. (1 Peter 4:12-13)
For the latest in our Biblios Hokku project, here is…
1 PETER
Take heart and rejoice:
In a world of suffering
God is in control.
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I can't help but wonder whether you speak of ...
ReplyDeletea world which is filled with suffering
or
a degree of suffering which rises to the definition "world of suffering" ...
or
if it matters, since our God is a well of comfort deeper and wider, longer and higher than our greatest suffering.
I was actually going for both of the first options. When you're writing with only 13-15 words, you need to pack as much meaning as possible into each phrase.
ReplyDeleteYou'll also note that you can run the middle sentence into either the first or last, to make different meanings. (There's a hidden message there about rejoicing in your suffering that would please James to read)
But since option number three is so very true, I think it doesn't really matter.
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