FFT

I live in North America. I'm fortunate. Some would even say I'm blessed. But when I look around our great country, I see disturbing contrasts. Some are rich, others poor. Some are powerful, others neglected. There are those who are healthy, those who are sick. My travels take me to countries where there appear to be no blessings. I see dirt floors, glassless windows, rag mattresses and short life expectancies, things that I would consider trials, perhaps even tribulations. Yet when I listen to the Christians living there speak about their God, I know they have seen and experienced God in a reality I can only read about. Sometimes I wonder whether their experiences allow them to know God in ways I never will.
Some say the blessings I have are from God, but it makes me wonder why God would give me financial security when that doesn't lead me to a stronger faith. Why does He protect me from pain when my pleasure only keeps me distracted from the important things in life? Ravi Zacharias in his book "Jesus among other gods" states that:
"Meaninglessness does not come from being weary of pain but from being weary of pleasure. It is not pain that has driven the west into emptiness; it has been the drowning of meaning in the oceans of our pleasure."
I remember the patient dying of cancer that I had told would not live out the weekend. He didn't believe me and weakly joked about my attempt to predict the future; "Are you God?" he asked gently. When I returned after my weekend off he smiled, took my hand, motioned me closer to his face and whispered that I must not be a very good doctor as he was still alive! We both knew what he meant, and we both knew that God was waiting for him; he was ready to die but he needed to wait a little longer and even in his suffering, that was okay.
We can also recall those patients who make us feel uncomfortable in their lively exuberance as they speak about the blessings of God. They are too often speaking from a life of pleasure. Safety, security, affluence and overindulgence often define our understanding of God's blessing. Is it possible that when one travels the easy road in life, one becomes spiritually soft? Is suffering a form of spiritual exercise? Are Christians in the West suffering from spiritual obesity, fed to excess on the best things in life at the table of our local "pigs-are-us" buffet?
Meaning in life becomes clearer when we go through tough times. Suffering brings out many emotions in us. Some cry out for help, others rail against the foes. But it still hurts. Is there a lesson for us in suffering? Or is this just required of the few? The Bible gives us some indication when Paul writes in Roman 5:3,4 "...we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope."
I can only conclude that North American "blessings" are not necessarily God's "blessings". There is something out there of more value. John Steinbeck, in his book "The Pearl" had it right when he told his story about the error of sacrificing all for something that was valuable but not priceless. We need to look for and find the "pearl of great price" that Christ refers to in His parable.
This issue leaves me with a bit of sanguine melancholy. Christ has not given me my affluence as a blessing to horde, but as a tool to serve. And I need to go through suffering to mature. Isn't there another way?
-Dr. Roger Gingerich