Light and Momentary Afflictions

This was an article I wrote for the newsletter for the Inner-City program where I served as Program Director and loved being God's hands to the poor and hurting.
"Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed dad by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary; but the things which are not seen are eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Some days at the Center are challenging. And that might just be an understatement. We see the hungry and the down-trodden come through our doors asking for food. We see the prostitute on the street knowing she is someone's daughter. We feel the pain of the children who come and tell us of their heartaches and tremendous needs. Some have been homeless and are living in shelters. Some have parents who abandoned them and they know only the stability of our old church building on Chestnut Street to greet then each afternoon after school to help them with homework, meals and snacks, all performed with Christ's love.

Yet, in the midst of this heartache and sadness, we are assured in this passage of 2 Corinthians that all of these troubles of this world are truly only "light and momentary" and they are temporary. The hunger, heartache, and helplessness will not follow us through the portals of Heaven. As God's children we can rest assured that the work we are doing, the love we are sharing, the hope we are placing in young hearts, and the Word of God are the eternal not temporary works that will last forever.

As God's servants, I know there are days when our staff would like to stay home. We would like to distance ourselves from rambunctious children and sarcastic youth. We would like to erase the image of homelessness and hunger from our vocabularies for just one day. Yet, it is so important that we don't become side-tracked by these light and momentary afflictions. We read according to Romans 8:28 that they are "all working together for good, for those who love God." Somehow, someway, in God's infinite wisdom, He can and will use these difficulties in this inner-city neighborhood to draw them nearer to Him.