"To really know a person is to know them by their sorrows...

Consider the ministry of Jesus and the people we meet along the way. If you have spent much time in Scripture, when I mention their names, you will know who I'm talking about….There's the widow from Nain, the rich young ruler, the woman with the issue of blood, the paralytic from Capernaum, the demoniac who lived among the tombs, and the thief on the cross. We know them by their failures. We know them by their afflictions. We know them by their sorrows. To know someone by their pain is to know them by their need. Even the rich young ruler, whose pain was that he had outperformed everyone, acquired great wealth in the process, had a long life ahead of him, and still felt a curious emptiness that nothing could seem to fill-even that man had a need. What did he and all the others need? Peace. Rest. Hope. Forgiveness. Freedom from affliction. Deliverance….These things, Christ alone can give. And he does give them freely to any who would believe in him.”

—Russ Ramsey, Van Gogh Has a Broken Heart

“The wait for Jesus is over, and the wait for Jesus continues. Jesus has both come and is coming. He has come and redeemed us from sin, and he’s coming again to make all things new. And those who are ‘righteous and devout’ wait for his coming. The Bible ends with Jesus saying, ‘Yes, I am coming soon’. To which we respond,

‘Amen. Come, Lord Jesus’ (Revelation 22:20).”

—Tim Chester, With Heart & Soul & Voice