Suffering produces perseverance;
perseverance, character; and character, hope.
—Romans 5:4
From the standpoint of human injustice, the day that Jesus died could easily be labeled the worst day in history. Yet it was the day God’s greatest gift of grace was given. By the fourth century that bad Friday was being celebrated as Good Friday—and has been ever since.
Because of what happened on that day, injustice, evil, suffering, and death do not have the last word.
Life’s experiences can only be judged by stepping away from the moment and hearing, as Emerson said, “what the centuries say against the years.” We see years. God sees centuries—and more.
For the Christian there is no bad experience that God can’t turn into good.
Faith enables us to believe what we cannot prove,
and accept what we cannot understand.