"Suffering is a Beautiful Hermeneutic"

I heard this quote by John Piper this past week at a conference in the city. No, all you young, hip Calvinists that are running to your collection of Piper books to look it up won't find it. It is a quote from a lunch conversation that was had with one of our conference speakers. According to the story, Piper had just found out he had cancer, but no one else knew. The man at lunch with him had just gone through cancer. Piper asked him what he learned and his reply was that besides God and his wife, cancer was the best thing that ever happened to him. At that, Piper, who hadn't smiled or barely talked all meal, dropped his fork and looked up with the Piper smile and whispered, "Suffering...is a beautiful...hermeneutic."

The funny thing is, I feel like I am experiencing both right now. I am finishing my last class of the year and ironically enough its hermeneutics. Hermeneutics refers to the process, both art and science, of interpreting, exegeting, and "rightly dividing" Scripture. There are all kinds of methodologies out there when it comes to hermeneutics. People have presuppositions and preunderstanding that causes them to approach Scripture with a bias. Bias isn't wrong, its inevitable. All of us approach the Word of God with our experiences, culture, doctrinal and theological slants and desires all in front of our faces. Because of these factors we all view Scripture in certain lights. So what do I think Piper meant?

I think he meant that when we suffer, when we experience the consequences of the fall in full force, we are then given the opportunity to see God for who He is and read His word to us in a correct light. Its amazing to me that all over the world Christianity is flourishing. People in areas of China are hiding a page of the Bible at a time in the ground for fear of being found with it. Only the the Western world are we tearing the Word apart, calling it literary criticism. Only in the Western world are there churches that call themselves churches yet don't believe that the Bible is God's Word. Everywhere else people trust it, love it, live by it and thrive by it. What is the difference?

Everywhere else people are suffering. What do we know about suffering in America? Honestly, our scale really isn't even comparable to that of Christians in Asia or the Middle East, but we experience suffering nonetheless. We suffer because though we are "rich and in need of nothing" nothing escapes from the consequences of the fall: the pain, the tears, the disorder of a creation rebelling against its Creator.

So we suffer. For some its financially. With the economy the way it is, some are losing houses, jobs, investments for the future and even their minds. Some are experiencing sicknesses like cancer, kidney failure, diabetes, and heart disease. Some are struggling to have babies.

As we experience and walk through this suffering we have an amazing opportunity to see God. We have an amazing opportunity to see God for who He is. Sovereign, gracious, loving, redeeming, powerful, trustworthy, faithful, merciful, and gracious. We have the chance to see a loving Heavenly Father who carries us through the suffering of life. Sometimes all that suffering does is lead us to a great knowledge of who He is. And I would say...that is enough.

So as you suffer, suffer well. Understand that in God's sovereignty, He knows and allows all. Maybe its time reap the benefits that suffering brings: a greater knowledge of God and His perfect character.