"For, behold, I have refined thee, I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction."
1 Nephi 20:10
This strikes me this morning I think because it comes right after a couple of verses where God says that he knew that the person (seems to represent his chosen people Israel) wouldn't hear, that they would be sneaky and bad... but still, he won't destroy them. He still chooses that person/those people. Now, I'm not sure if everyone can relate to this, but I think this sounds incredibly cool and forgiving, the way I am thinking of it today.
Perhaps we think often of the whole affliction part and wonder... well, gee, but you could choose me some other way, couldn't you? ;) But the point is, no... he couldn't. He knew that we needed this refining, this affliction, in order to change from those stubborn, disloyal, sneaky people into the devoted, open, and honest people that we *need* to be to be a part of him and who he is. The affliction is part of the deal... part of becoming that Zion people, or achieving that perfection and that point where we want to be with God more than we want to slink off somewhere else and hide. We have to change into those sorts of people. It doesn't mean that God doesn't love us the way we are... at all. It only means that he knows, as our father, just how far we need to grow up before we are ready for the "real" world (afterlife). :)
So, yeah, I'm not saying that I am going to jump into some extra affliction today because it is so yummilicious. ... Only that I think affliction is a measure of God's love for us. That he is helping us to change and to learn. Maybe we can catch that perspective today, and have a little more patience with our challenges, which are really opportunities to improve. :)
1 Nephi 20:10
This strikes me this morning I think because it comes right after a couple of verses where God says that he knew that the person (seems to represent his chosen people Israel) wouldn't hear, that they would be sneaky and bad... but still, he won't destroy them. He still chooses that person/those people. Now, I'm not sure if everyone can relate to this, but I think this sounds incredibly cool and forgiving, the way I am thinking of it today.
Perhaps we think often of the whole affliction part and wonder... well, gee, but you could choose me some other way, couldn't you? ;) But the point is, no... he couldn't. He knew that we needed this refining, this affliction, in order to change from those stubborn, disloyal, sneaky people into the devoted, open, and honest people that we *need* to be to be a part of him and who he is. The affliction is part of the deal... part of becoming that Zion people, or achieving that perfection and that point where we want to be with God more than we want to slink off somewhere else and hide. We have to change into those sorts of people. It doesn't mean that God doesn't love us the way we are... at all. It only means that he knows, as our father, just how far we need to grow up before we are ready for the "real" world (afterlife). :)
So, yeah, I'm not saying that I am going to jump into some extra affliction today because it is so yummilicious. ... Only that I think affliction is a measure of God's love for us. That he is helping us to change and to learn. Maybe we can catch that perspective today, and have a little more patience with our challenges, which are really opportunities to improve. :)
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