come disaster, scorn, and pain

i stole a CD from the church office and it has become my new best friend. so here's a plug for the Indelible Grace Hymn Sing CD which features live music recorded in Nashville. If you don't have it, go buy it. or steal it from your church.

anyways, I was driving along minding my own business, listening to hymns that I have heard my whole life, when one verse just hit me like bucket of cold water from the middle of nowhere. it goes like this:

Go, then, earthly fame and treasure,
Come disaster, scorn and pain
In Thy service, pain is pleasure,
With Thy favor, loss is gain
I have called Thee Abba Father,
I have stayed my heart on Thee
Storms may howl, and clouds may gather;
All must work for good to me.

thats sort of a big deal. by singing those words I am saying that I want to trade my earthly treasures for disaster, scorn, and pain. Pain is pleasure, loss is gain. I wish I had the faith to sing that and really mean it. Instead, I get a little bit scared to death inside. Is this what Jesus wants? Is that what it looks like to take up my cross and follow Him? Maybe I signed up for the wrong thing here, I didn't know disaster and pain was part of the job description.

lets compare that to these words of wisdom from the motivational speaker Joel Osteen:
"Don’t just accept whatever comes your way in life. You were born to win; you were born for greatness; you were created to be a champion in life."

I'm pretty sure the phrase "champion in life" doesn't exist in the Holy Bible. But this does:
"..we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies."

just an interesting comparison there. the hymn continues like this:


Soul, then know thy full salvation
Rise o’er sin and fear and care
Joy to find in every station,
Something still to do or bear.
Think what Spirit dwells within thee,
Think what Father’s smiles are thine,
Think that Jesus died to win thee,
Child of heaven, canst thou repine?

I am a child of the King. The Spirit is inside me. The Father smiles at me. Jesus died to win me. Heaven is mine.
just a few thoughts.