St. Teresa of Alvila, one of the better known mystics of the Church, once cried,
"Lord, from sour face saints deliver us!"
It is one thing to be serious, yet quite another to be sour. No one feels comfortable around a sourpuss, not even the sourpuss himself. A sourpuss Christian is no exception. Yet, our religious landscape is dotted with enough self-righteous sourpusses to pickle the whole world and then some it seems. The interesting thing about sourpusses is that they can with straight faces sing, "It is joy unspeakable and full of glory," then in the next second put on a scowl that would freeze a desert oasis.
Whereas, it is true that God is more interested in our holiness than our happiness, I know of no law—spiritual or otherwise, that prevent us from enjoying both. Pain is no excuse for a scowl; afterall, it is true that we learn more from our pain than our pleasure. So, why not rejoice that God has counted us worthy to experience his enduring grace to the ultimate in all circumstances, including pain and suffering (Romans 8:18–21?"
It is also true that God is more interested in our character than in our comfort. In that we should rejoice, since character building is what Christianty down here is about. We are in daily construction—for as the Statler Brothers song goes, "God made the sun, moon and the stars, and He is still working on me."
Therefore "let us not grow weary for in due time we shall reap if we faint not (Galatians 6:9 ."
Let us keep looking up, for our redemption is near,
JimR_/
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