Superior Fuel to Endure
Recent Brown Alum Zack ‘20 (Wrestling) unpacked some key takeaways from the story in Luke 24:13-27 when Jesus comes alongside his disciples after his resurrection. Here’s some of what he shared:
● The difference between fueling endurance with worldly hope and fueling endurance with divine hope: hope in the promise of salvation through Jesus
● As an athlete, it is easy to come to expect results or feel entitled to success after you have committed to a process of training that is designed to yield results.
● The travelers on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24) had hoped that Jesus would redeem Israel: the concept of victory they imagined their savior would bring did not match the reality that God had planned.
● We often do the same. We hope that God will show his love for us by leading us to our idea of victory.
● However, we often do not win, but every challenge we face is the work of a benevolent God who loves us; fortunate or unfortunate, who can really say?
● Making a transition from placing your hope in outcomes offered by the world to placing your hope in the promises of Jesus likely won’t make life easier, but it will leave you better equipped for adversity.
● Jesus reminds the travelers that it was proper for him to suffer to enter into the glory that God had planned for his life.
● In Matthew 10:22, Jesus warns that we may be hard for his name’s sake, but he who endures to the end will be saved.
● Jesus redeemed the act of suffering, so we should not fear entering it alongside him. Prior to the resurrection, the world did not understand how such great beauty and purpose could come from an act of suffering.
● After the resurrection, suffering still displays the flaws and brokenness of humanity, but with our own pride diminished, it makes it more evident how God is capable of executing a perfect and beautiful plan despite the brokenness of humanity.
● Acts 5:40 the apostles rejoice because they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor in the name of Jesus- it is an honor to suffer as Jesus did.
● Suffering as Jesus did is not simply enduring suffering, it is suffering while exuding a spirit of love: continuing to will the better of others, be compassionate, and show the world the light of the gospel even though you may be in pain. (Matthew 5:1-16)
● The loss of seasons and the changing of academic life is not the victory that we had planned for ourselves, but it is part of the life God wills us to endure with a spirit of love.
● Continue to love and be joyful in these hard times to strengthen your own faith and to show those around you that they can endure in the same way with the strength and love of God. (1st Peter 4:7-11)
