Hey – have you ever got a good bit of news and it lifted your spirits? The gospel has that power to elevate you out of the doldrums and bring you peace and joy in the midst of suffering. The christian life is not about an absence of trials, tribulations, and suffering, but rather about peace and joy in the midst of your suffering! Notice how episodes of overwhelming ecstasy, joy, and peace accompanied the revelation of inclusion within scripture. God showed Peter that he should call no one common or unclean (because all of humanity was perfected at the cross!) and his experience was accompanied with him “falling into a trance”. Paul was “standing beside himself in ecstasy” in 2 Corinthians 5 when he realized that “one died for all – therefore all died” and “from here on we regard no one from a worldly point of view”. Meditating on the inclusion of all of humanity in the work of the cross can put you in a state of bliss and physical pleasure and well being that goes beyond our understanding. Give it a try!
