A Rough Row to Hoe

[304 words] The Christian life has been described as “headed into a storm, in a storm, or coming out of a storm.” The question for the believer is not if trials will come, but what to do when they do come. The apostle Paul said that “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God” in Acts 14:22. Paraphrased into today’s language, Jesus might say we have a “rough row to hoe” before we enter God’s presence. Accepting the blunt reality of trial and hardship is the first step to dealing with adversity. The Christian is no more immune to cancer or hurricanes than the non-Christian. The ruin of the fall and the entrance of sin into the universe adversely affect both man and creation (Romans 8:22 – “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time”)….