I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to Him in his death.

Philippians 3:10

What does following Jesus entail?  I like the glorious aspects, like life everlasting, and so forth.  To be honest, I do not welcome, certainly not often, the prospect of following Jesus as a sufferer.  Yet that is exactly the word of God through Paul, the Apostle.  Did Jesus suffer for us?  Terribly much, we would say.  So, why should we think that following Jesus now will be the way to avoid suffering for his sake?

One of the most marvelous aspects of Jesus’ love for us is that He allows suffering to come to us, each personalized.  We suffer, we reign.  We are bashed by Satan, we rise in the fullness of God’s amazing strength.

As I think of it, suffering and rejoicing are not opposites, but fellows!

Those who may be following this blog realize that I am pushing 91!  So, I have thoughts of an aging man.  I find that I do not  resist that tug on my life but count it joy to be one of Jesus’ followers.  Praise His name now and ever!!