ROBERT@kontu.utu.fi (Robert W. Johnson) (03/30/91)
Perplexed, yet not unto dispair. 2 Corinthians 4.8. From the day I was converted, my sincere ambition was to be a true Christian. Of course I had my own conception of what a Christian should be, and I tried my utmost to be that kind of Christian. A true Christian, I reasoned, should smile from morning to night! If ever he shed a tear, he had ceased to be victorious. he must to, be unfailing courageous. The slightest sign of fear would mean he had failed seriously to trust His Lord. He had, in fact, fallen far short of my standard. But the Christian life, I soon learned, is very different. It is a paradox of power in weakness, joy amid pain, faith triumphing in the presence of doubt. When the Christian is strongest in the Lord he is often most conscious of inability; when he is the most courageous he may be profoundly aware of fear within; and when he is most joyful a sense of stress readily breaks upon him again. it is only "the exceeding greatness of the power" that lifts him on high. ----- Robert W. Johnson Computer center, The University of Turku, Turku Finland robert@kontu.utu.fi (InterNet) robert@firien.bitnet (BITNET) The preceeding is my opinion and may not express the opinion of my employer and furthermore has nothing to do with my employment.