"...they [Christians] do not go out of their way to look for suffering, or try to contract out of it by adopting an attitude of contempt and disdain. They simply bear the suffering which comes their way as they try to follow Jesus Christ, and bear it for his sake. Sorrow cannot tire them or wear them down, it cannot embitter them or cause them to break down under the strain; far from it, for they bear their sorrow in the strength of him who bears them up, who bore the whole suffering of the world upon the cross."
-- Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Living Together
I came across this as part of an old post, while going back through my blog looking for something else. And realized that I needed to be reminded of it. It's soooo easy to slip into that place of self-protective contempt and disdain, which is the first step on the path of hardness of heart, which will eventually lead you into Hell. That is, the Hell of being truly Alone here on earth, to which the actual Hell is just the natural consummation.
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