Result of random hardships heaped on
Mankind with no explanation or meaning.
Death ends it all.
No afterlife exists.
But there is also no resolution to the unfair
Distribution of tribulations that individuals
Have faced.
For believers, however, suffering has
Purpose, for we know God is developing
Strength and character in us.
In the furnace we learn to rely on Him rather
Than on ourselves, and in the
Process we become more like Him.
We can actually rejoice in our trials for
We know when we die we will be
With Christ, and the suffering we once
Endured will only make heaven more
Inviting and wondrous.
"We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems
and trials, for we know that they are good for us-
they help us learn to endure. And endurance develops
strength of character in us, and character strengthens our
confident expectation of salvation." Romans 5:3