Lee Patmore
The Word that Sustains the Weary
Jim McGuiggan: Reflections on Suffering
Some twenty years ago I attended a series of lessons by Jim McGuiggan at Alberta Spring Fellowship in Edmonton. There are few preachers that make me want to stand up and cheer in the midst of their message. McGuiggan is one of them. Jim's articulation of the gospel of Jesus Christ and how it connects to human suffering resonates deep within me. I find myself returning again and again to these messages over the years. They breath life into me on multiple fronts. It is my prayer that they do the same for you.
In 2001 Jim McGuiggan released his book Celebrating the Wrath of God. This series of lessons flows out of the experience of writing that book.
From the back cover:
Just by living, we see and experience how agonizing life can be. We are surrounded by child abuse and neglect, starving families, premature deaths of those we love, natural disasters, and global disease. How could a God worthy of respect and worship allow such a world to exist?
There are no simple answers. But there is hope. Author Jim McGuiggan believes that suffering may in fact be the last thing we expect - an expression of God's wrath, which in turn is nothing other than his relentless, loving pursuit of us. If this is true, then suffering is a vital part of God's work to redeem his creation. Give this claim a hearing, and you just might see the suffering of the world in a new way - a world shot through with glory and hope and assurance.
