Life of the Church: Do Not Shrink Back

Advent has brought us to the birth of Christ, the celebration of Christ with us, but even after his arrival the Scriptures tell us that all is still not as it should be.   Christ has come, and He will come again, but we still live with the reality of suffering. The Scriptures call us to usher in the kingdom of God with our beautiful, suffering Savior. We don’t live for an ideal experience, we live for a person - in joy and in suffering. We know that faith pleases God so we do not shrink back when suffering comes. Our true joy comes from communion with him.  There is always beauty to be found, because Christ has made himself available to us.