Trail of Tears

I have heard some rough stories. One recently of a man whose wife left him because she was trans. He wants to raise his kids in the Lord but is forced to send them to public school and because of dual custody, his kids are strongly influenced by the mom. I have talked with a wife, who has been faithful to her husband and a support despite him being an alcoholic. He died never changing. Many have been hurt by toxic leadership in a church. Many feel like no matter how hard they try they fail or something bad happens. Right now, women in the war in Ukraine are being systematically raped, kid’s orphaned, many losing their homes, and this is not new. We have a whole world history of people suffering and not seeing happiness on this earth. Christians have suffered with severe depression or questions about their faith that never went away. We feel like we are falling apart. The prophets suffered; even longed for death. Everyday horror happens to people professing to believe in Christ. We are not rescued from the suffering of this world. And some never escape from these horrors despite holding on to their faith in Christ. Hell exists because of sin, and because sin brings hell, some of us get more a glimpse of its reality than others. Because of sin, life is not fair. Not only are we depraved, our world is depraved. What is our hope in circumstances like this? Our hope is only this – Christ’s covenantal love will not fail. This world will fail, we will fail, but even in horrors this sinful world can bring us, our hope remains secure. I wish I could promise, “Hey, just be faithful and you will be restored in this world.” I’ve seen too much to promise this. Things may not get better. They may even get worse. But I can say, “Hold on to the promises of Jesus, his covenantal love will not fail, and one day you will see God face to face. When you see God’s face the momentary afflictions of this world will fall away and your tears will be wiped away by a hand that has loved you all along the way.” Christianity does not bring us into happiness or a better world, it reconciles our relationship with God. Our prize in Christianity is not happiness, no, our treasure, our reward is Love. We will be with our Beloved! There are love songs proclaiming the mountains, fires, and oceans we would travel through for earthly love. In this life you will suffer and have loss. You will have more than you can bear. We will be with our Beloved, despite our sin. And in spite of the sin and the horror in this world, despite this trail of tears, Christ’s covenantal love will conquer all, even your own struggling heart, and you will experience a Love and Beauty like no other. This does not take away the sorrow you feel here and now. It doesn’t take away mine. And some situations it would be abnormal not to feel sorrow. But know that even in all this Christ’s covenantal love is with you.