{"id":2002,"date":"2011-12-16T08:30:00","date_gmt":"2011-12-16T08:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/?p=2002"},"modified":"2016-01-06T13:47:22","modified_gmt":"2016-01-06T13:47:22","slug":"hope-in-the-bigger-picture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/uncategorized\/hope-in-the-bigger-picture\/","title":{"rendered":"Hope in the Bigger Picture"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Being an Internet Movie Database addict,\u00a0Star Wars geek and owner of many movie themed t-shirts,\u00a0I often watch ‘Inside the Actor’s Studio’ on one of those (mostly) pointless sky channels.\u00a0It features a Hollywood star being interviewed and always ends with them being asked the same six or seven quirky and often insightful\u00a0questions. In a recent episode, Matt Damon caused me to\u00a0have ‘one of those thoughtful moments’\u00a0when answering the very last question.<\/p>\n

“If Heaven does exist, what\u00a0would you like\u00a0God to say when you arrive at the pearly gates…?” – to which\u00a0Jason Bourne\u00a0replied: “That all of the suffering that\u00a0I saw or heard about, or knew was happening – that there was a point to it.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Even as a Christian – or maybe that should read\u00a0especially<\/em>\u00a0as a Christian –\u00a0the whole suffering thing can be a\u00a0tough one to get\u00a0your head around.\u00a0Bad things happen, of course – but why all the suffering?<\/div>\n
Over the summer, my wife and I both\u00a0experienced and witnessed suffering very close to home on a number of occasions. It was a difficult period and, I admit, there were times when I looked to the skies, shrugged my shoulders and wondered if God had left his phone off the hook.<\/div>\n
But\u00a0if only\u00a0Matt Damon\u00a0knew – if only\u00a0any<\/em>\u00a0of us knew, how much the tragedies, heartache, hunger and unhappiness that fill every corner of the globe affected\u00a0our Creator, we would realise that\u00a0His heart\u00a0breaks\u00a0each and every time a child is\u00a0abused, somebody starves or a\u00a0marriage ends – and that He feels it a hundred times more than we do.<\/div>\n
God answers\u00a0prayers\u00a0and\u00a0works miracles\u00a0every day\u00a0but when He\u00a0chooses not to, it’s because a) something bigger is\u00a0going on, and b) the\u00a0tough times are when we grow closer to Him, which is all He wants.\u00a0He demands our trust, and for that we receive a love, joy and peace that cannot be found anywhere else. I guess that’s why we call it faith.<\/div>\n
1 Peter 1:6 says: ‘So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine.’<\/div>\n
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