Title: Time of Grace
Contents
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12. Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial that comes to refine you, as if something strange happened to you.
13. Rather, rejoice in your participation in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may rejoice and rejoice in the manifestation of his glory.
Content
Title: Time of Grace
Text: 1 Peter 4:12-13
Have you ever heard of Paul Potts? About three years ago, I saw Paul Potts' music performance in the auditorium of Ewha Womans University when he visited Korea. Watching the performance on this day, for the first time in my life, I experienced myself, very unfamiliar with myself, naturally jumping up from my seat, clapping and crying. I must have gone crazy that day.
Why did this person captivate me? Paul Potts, a British cell phone salesman, became a global star overnight by participating in a TV show called Britains Got Talent and winning first place. At that time, the news media focused on the success story of this man, trying to instill a dream that anyone can succeed if they work hard until the end. However, it was not his success story that was deeply engraved in my heart, but his special attitude in life as he went through his most painful moments. Everyone, have you ever seen a picture of Paul Potts during the shogi contest qualifiers? As Paul Potts himself admits, he was really ugly for his short stature. It came out that he was singing with one front tooth missing, and I had absolutely no expectations from the judges or the audience that he would perform any great songs. But when he starts singing the opera, the audience goes crazy and the judges are surprised.
Paul Potts is said to have been bullied and bullied by his schoolmates because he had an ugly face from a young age. How difficult it was at the time, he confesses: “I thought I was a useless person and that I could never achieve anything. There were times when I fell asleep crying, and there were times when I thought of suicide. It is said that Paul Potts had one best friend, and it was his voice. He used to rely on his voice to sing whenever he was bullied, which made Paul Potts what he is today.
If you think about it, it's ironic. If the pain of being ostracized by friends did not exist for Paul Potts, would he have been able to become/ such a world-class singer who can impress people today? Of course, pain itself does not make a person. If Paul Potts, like high school students in America, had opened fire to avenge his bullying friends, he would be in a cold prison now. But when he turned the pain of bullying into an opportunity to sing, a completely different world awaited him. In fact, Paul Potts is not a systematic music student, and in the eyes of a singer he/ may not be a great person. But what is clear is that his songs move people. It is also said that it moves the eyes to a burning sensation. Would this have nothing to do with the painful moments/ when he was bullied and bullied by his friends?
For those who have opened their spiritual eyes, suffering is an opportunity for maturity and a time of grace. Of course, there are sufferings that are really unbearable in human life. Nevertheless, if we do not avoid these sufferings, accept them as they are, believe only in God in the midst of them, and steadfastly follow the right path that conforms to God's will, then God will give us the strength to overcome those sufferings. , will make us more mature through that pain, and open up a new path for us to live. For those who believe in God, suffering can be a time of grace.