Well, good evening. Great to be with you again at Brunsfield. Thank you so much for your kind invitation.
We're going to be looking at Genesis chapter 3 tonight in the main.
So if you've got a Bible handy, it would be great to have it open at Genesis chapter 3.
Let me just mention one or two FIEC things. You'd expect me to do that.
I'm sure the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches, I work full-time for them in Scotland and the north of England.
I think I've had opportunity to mention one or two things about them on previous visits.
But the work is going ahead. It's great that the network of churches is growing.
A couple of churches recently just voted to affiliate to FIEC.
And it's great just to see that work growing, but not just for the sake of growth,
because of the opportunities it gives us for gospel partnership and work.
And among the particular things we've been involved in recently are the Pathways Ministry.
This may have been brought to your attention already, but we've been meeting with church leaders around Scotland
to share with them something of the vision of Pathways,
which is to help churches create a training culture within the local congregation
to equip men and women for gospel service.
And then in particular, we have a day conference coming up in January this year.
It's going to be in Perth at the Tayside Christian Fellowship Church.
And that's going to be for anybody who is thinking about vocational Christian ministry,
whether part-time or full-time.
So perhaps you're thinking, perhaps God is calling me to serve him in some kind of set-aside way,
in some capacity.
It could be as an evangelist, as a youth worker, as a pastor, as a women's worker, whatever that is.
Then this could be a day that would be really helpful for you when experienced church leaders
will help you think through some of the issues that you need to be considering
as you weigh up that sense of call.
So I've got some leaflets.
I think Graham already had some of these, but I draw that to your attention.
The course that we're doing in independent church ministry is continuing at ETS this year.
We've run that for two previous years.
Tim Foster, one of your folks here, one of the graduates.
That's a rather grand way of putting it, but he did the course and got his certificate
in independent church ministry.
And we're continuing to run that at ETS as a way that we can help equip
and support future church leaders in independent churches of all types.
And then finally, it's great to be involved in mission.
FIC in Scotland is currently linked with five church plants in various areas around the country,
giving them practical support from Orkney down to the central belt.
So it's really encouraging to see that church planting going on,
to see new fellowships starting and to be able to partner with them
and to help them as they find their feet and get started.
And we had a mission forum day in March at Charlotte Chapel in Edinburgh
where we brought church leaders from across Scotland and beyond together.
And one of the projects that has come out of that is a potential new church plant in Aviemore next year.
And we are bringing together a team and support and various components that can make that happen.
So pray for that.
Aviemore, surprise me, is an area, a town with very little gospel witness in it.
Almost nothing, not quite nothing, there never is nothing in God's mercy,
but actually a town that really needs a fresh, outward-looking, evangelistically-minded gospel church.
It's a growing town, one and a half thousand new homes.
Planning permission has been granted for those in the coming years.
So really appreciate your prayers that that vision comes to fruition.
So that's just a little taster of some of the things that are going on in Scotland at the moment
that FIC is connected with.
As we come to Scripture tonight, let me just give a little apology.
I wrote down in my diary way back when I think Graeme contacted me,
Genesis 3 and 4, the impact of the fall.
And we're looking a bit narrower tonight, obviously from your series on the particular aspect of work.
So tonight's going to be a bit broader.
We'll try and pick up on the work element of that as we go.
But if it feels slightly broader, then that's all my fault for not paying attention enough at the time.
But it's all God's Word, and I'm sure it will be profitable to us by the Spirit.
Let me just pray as we read God's Word, as we come to consider it in more detail.
Heavenly Father, we do thank you for your Word.
We thank you that it is true.
We thank you that it is living.
We thank you that it is relevant to us today.
We thank you that it speaks into our lives, that it guides us, that it is a light in a dark world.
And so, Father, we do pray that as we come to it now,
that you would give us ears to hear your voice,
to understand the truth that you have laid down in Scripture,
and to be better equipped to serve and love the Lord Jesus Christ.
Father, grant that prayer we ask in Jesus' name.
Amen.
So Genesis then, we're going to just pick up a couple of verses in chapter 2,
by way of background.
So chapter 2 and verse 15.
The Lord took the man, it's Adam, and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
And the Lord commanded the man,
You are free to eat from any tree in the garden,
but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
For when you eat from it, you will certainly die.
Genesis chapter 3, verse 1.
Now the snake was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made.
He said to the woman, Eve,
Did God really say you must not eat from any tree in the garden?
The woman said to the snake,
We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,
but God did say you must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden,
and you must not touch it or you will die.
You will certainly not die, the snake said to the woman.
For God knows that when you eat from it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God,
knowing good and evil.
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye,
and also desirable for gaining wisdom,
she took some and ate it.
She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked.
So they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day.
And they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
But the Lord God called to the man,
Where are you?
He answered,
I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.
And he said,
Who told you that you were naked?
Have you eaten from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat?
The man said,
The woman you put here with me, she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.
Then the Lord God said to the woman,
What is this you have done?
The woman said,
The snake deceived me, and I ate.
So the Lord God said to the snake,
Because you have done this,
Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals.
You will crawl in your belly, and you will eat dust all the days of your life.
And I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers.
He will crush your head, and you will crush his heel.
To the woman he said,
I will make your pains and childbearing very severe.
With painful labor you will give birth to children.
Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.
To Adam he said,
Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you,
you must not eat from it.
Cursed is the ground because of you.
Through painful toil you will eat food from it.
All the days of your life.
It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.
By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken.
For dust you are, and to dust you will return.
And then verse 23.
So the Lord God banished him from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.
After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the garden of Eden,
Chirubim, and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
Amen.
And may God bless too, is the reading of his holy and inspired words.
A number of years ago I remember having a conversation with an atheist,
it was actually a relative of mine,
and I just asked him up front,
Why don't you believe in God?
And the answer he gave to me was,
Because if God had made the world,
he would have made a better one than this.
And for many of course,
the state of the world as we look around is a real problem
when it comes to having faith.
Where is this all-powerful, loving God
when crimes are committed,
when wars are started,
when people are being abused?
How can you expect me to believe in a God
who would allow such misery?
And yet at the end of Genesis chapter 1,
when God completed his work of creation,
we read that it was a place of perfection,
harmony,
beauty,
and peace.
At the apex of which was humanity.
Man and woman,
male and female,
made in the image of God.
Male and female created to know God
and to live in the closest of all relationships with God.
People who were made to care
and rule over the earth
under God,
kindly,
and responsibly.
So what happened?
Why did the world,
made by a loving God,
so full of potential and hope,
become the place that we know
and experience and live in today?
A place which is marred by conflict,
hardship,
division,
and suffering.
It's why actually Genesis chapter 3
is perhaps the most important chapter
in the Bible.
Certainly plot wise.
Because if you take Genesis chapter 3
out of the Bible,
nothing after it makes any sense.
You see,
Genesis chapter 3 explains
why the world that we live
and work in today
is not the one
that God made.
It's not that there's nothing good
about the world now,
but something went terribly wrong.
And Genesis chapter 3
shows us
that the bit
that went terribly wrong
was us,
was you
and me.
I remember being in Africa,
you probably had this experience
in various places,
you could have it in
parts of Scotland,
but standing on a road
and looking at a magnificent view,
wonderful African sun,
huge African sun,
setting over some pink mountains,
absolutely idyllic
and breathtaking.
But if you turned around
and looked at the other side
of the road,
you saw a slum,
terrible poverty,
children
in rags.
The bit that God had made
in that sense
was wonderful.
The bit that humans had made
was horrible.
contrast between
the good
and the bad,
of course,
runs throughout our world,
doesn't it?
Humans have achieved
amazing things,
quite staggering
what human beings
have been capable of,
of the ingenuity
and creativity
of men and women,
sent a rocket
to the moon,
invented medicines
medicines that have
relieved suffering
and improved
the quality of people's lives.
We have invented
the internet,
the entire information
in the world
in my pocket.
Astonishing.
And yet,
of course,
those very achievements,
those very skills,
that very ingenuity
is simultaneously
turned into
making weapons,
drugs that are addictive
and ruin lives.
The facility
to bring
a tsunami
of pornography
into people's homes,
even their pockets,
potentially.
Bill Bryson,
the American author,
lives in Britain now,
I think.
Not a Christian,
but he wrote a book
called
A Short History
of Nearly Everything
a while ago.
And he says this in it,
he says,
as far as we can tell,
we are the best
there is.
We may be
all there is.
It's an unnerving thought
that we may be
the living universe's
supreme achievement
and its worst nightmare
simultaneously.
And of course,
that problem
runs right through
our hearts.
Every one of us
is a strange mixture.
Sometimes we can be
capable of great acts
of kindness,
bravery,
love for others.
And yet,
on the other hand,
in the blink of an eye,
we can be selfish,
cowardly,
proud,
using others.
See this in so many ways,
don't we?
The loving father,
protective of his family,
addicted to pornography.
The loyal,
considerate friends,
meanly gossiping
about a colleague.
Somebody who gives
generously to charity,
but will lie about
their taxes.
Humanity is like,
as somebody has put it,
a ruined grandeur,
a ruined castle.
Have you ever been to
an old ruined castle
and you look at it
and if you squint,
you can imagine
what it was like
when it was first built.
You can imagine
when the towers were complete
and the ramparts
were intact
and just how magnificent
and great
and wonderful
and impressive it was.
But actually now,
it's broken down.
It's scarred,
it's dirty
and there's weeds
sprouting out
of it everywhere.
The account of humanity's fall
in Genesis chapter 3
has a number of
mysterious elements in it.
We're not told
where the serpent,
the tempter,
the snake comes from.
We're not told
where evil originated
or why God allowed it
into Eden.
And yet the facts
and lessons are clear
regarding this world-changing
encounter.
That's why we read
from Genesis chapter 2
verses 15 to 17.
Do you notice there
that God did two things
when he places man
in the garden?
Firstly,
he gives Adam
instructions
about his purpose.
If you like,
he gives Adam
instructions
about his vocational
responsibilities.
That he is there
to work.
You notice that?
God took the man
and put him in the garden
to work it
and to take care of it.
Humanity's vocation
is to steward
and to manage
and to care for
and to oversee creation.
But he also
gives Adam
instructions,
even he does that,
about right and wrong,
about his moral
responsibility.
And that is
to obey God.
You are free
to eat from any tree
in the garden,
but you must not eat
from the tree
of the knowledge
of good and evil,
for when you eat from it,
you will certainly
die.
You see,
just as man
was dependent
on God
for his purpose
in the world,
what he was there for,
he was to be
dependent on God
for his understanding
of right and wrong.
Now, of course,
many today object
to that,
don't they?
That second part,
especially,
they can be very
offended and prickly
by the suggestion
that God
or religion
is somehow
necessary
in order
for people
to live morally
good lives.
But the fact
remains
that once
you remove
God
as your moral
guide,
you're ultimately
making up
your own rules.
And we know
from experience
that it won't be
long before
those rules
start to get bent
out of selfish
self-interest.
It's inevitable.
And it is
what we see.
So Adam
has commanded
not to eat
of the tree
of knowledge.
Again,
the tree of knowledge
is a mysterious
thing,
but I don't think
it was magical.
I don't think
there was some
kind of Walt
Disney-esque
magic potion
in the fruits,
not Snow White
here.
I think that
it was there
to teach
humanity
about the need
right at the
start of creation,
the need to
trust God
and to
obey God.
that is,
good
was not
to eat
of it,
that is,
to obey
God,
whereas evil
would be to
eat of it,
that is,
to disobey
God.
One writer
puts it like
this,
Colin Adams,
in his book
Unlocking the
Bible Story,
he says,
when God
told Adam
that he must
not eat
from the tree
of the knowledge
of good and
evil,
it was as
if he said,
Adam,
you need
to understand
that there
is a terrible
reality in
the universe
and I want
to protect
you from
it.
It's called
evil.
You do not
know anything
about it,
but it already
exists.
I do not
want you ever
to experience
it,
so whatever
you do,
trust me
and do
what I
tell you.
So what
on earth
caused
Adam and
Eve to
distrust
God
and to
reject
that very
simple,
that very
basic,
that very
reasonable
commandment.
Well,
there's lots
written on
this,
you'll be
familiar with
this,
I'm sure,
so I'll
spend very
little time,
but three
causes are
very evident
here,
three causes
that are
always at
play,
then and
today in
our own
lives,
whenever we
turn from
God,
whenever we
make the
same kind
of decision
as we
do
continually,
if we're
honest,
to do
our own
thing,
rather than
God's,
to prefer
our own
way to
the one
that God
has shown
us.
So firstly,
of course,
we have
misrepresentation,
don't we?
Satan's
tactic,
the snake,
the tempter,
is to create
confusion about
what God
has said.
If the
key to
bringing down
humanity is
to get
them to
distrust
God,
then let's
misrepresent
what God
has actually
said and
his motives
for saying
it.
Notice
here in
verse 2,
verse 1
rather,
said to
the woman,
did God
really say
you must
not eat
from any
tree in
the garden?
He poses
a question,
but like a
lot of
questions,
it's loaded
question,
isn't it?
it's driving
a certain
answer?
It's
exaggeration.
God
hasn't
said you
can't
eat
from any
tree in
the garden.
Then he
falls into
the trap
in verse
3,
talking about
how we
were not
to touch
it.
But
actually,
touching
was not
mentioned
in chapter
2.
It's all
misrepresentation,
it's all
an attempt,
an agenda
here to
present God
as being
draconian,
unreasonable,
excessive.
God is
out to
spoil your
fun.
Christianity
is dull
and boring,
God is
frankly just
mean.
But actually
of course,
God made
all the
good and
fun stuff
in the
universe.
He made
a world
that was
packed with
delights,
that is
packed with
delights.
C.S.
Lewis puts
it,
the devil
never invented
any pleasure.
He just
misuses the
ones that
God
created.
My wife
was given
an ornament,
a kind of
figurine a
number of
years ago
by an
aunt,
which passed
away and
it was left
to her.
So it had
kind of
sentimental
value,
but I
think it
was probably
quite a
valuable
ornament in
its own
right.
and we
told the
kids they
weren't
allowed to
touch it.
We had
three kids
younger at
that stage
that said,
don't touch
this ornament,
it's precious
for various
reasons.
And they've
got a room
full of
toys,
if your
kids are
similar,
a shed
load of
toys,
ridiculous
number of
toys,
the bottom
three feet
of their
bed is
soft toys
and they've
got all
these things
falling out
of their
cupboards
that they
never
interested in.
But they
so wanted
to get their
hands in
that ornament
and they
were so
indignant
they weren't
allowed to.
craving for
it.
And it was
ridiculous,
you've got a
room full
of toys and
you want
this one
thing.
It's very
humorous,
isn't it?
Pretty strange
really,
but it's
very human.
It's very
Genesis
chapter 3.
So Satan
wants to
misrepresent
God.
Secondly,
he wants to
sow seeds
of doubt.
Verse 4,
his second
tactic is just
to challenge
God's word
head on.
You won't
surely die.
Don't worry,
it's not
going to be
that big a
deal.
In fact,
God is,
God's word
continues to
be attacked
in this way,
doesn't it?
God
didn't really
mean.
A warning
to us,
isn't it?
Just to be
aware of
those in
the church
and without
whose message,
whose ambition,
whose ministry
it seems to be
just to cast
doubt on the
Bible.
They look at
things that
seem to you
and me to
be fairly
plain and
clear and
straightforward
and they
just question
it and
question it
and question
it and
question it.
Then you
say,
why are you
questioning it?
I'm just
asking questions.
But of course
there's an
agenda there,
isn't there?
There's an
agenda of
attrition
to cast
doubt on
God's words.
We need to
push on.
And then
there's ambition,
isn't there?
Verse 5,
God is just
trying to
suppress you
and keep
you down.
He knows
that in the
day that you
take this
fruit,
you'll be
like him,
you'll be
like God,
you'll know
good and
evil.
Trying to
stop you
reaching your
full potential,
you too
could be
God.
It just
is Philip
Pullman,
isn't it?
See,
he's got
his latest
books out
after his
previous
dark trilogy.
Philip
Pullman's
basic thesis
is that the
fall was an
upward fall.
When Adam
and Eve
rebelled,
that was a
wonderful
breakthrough
moment.
That was
getting rid
of God,
getting rid
of oppression
and finding
fulfillment
and coming
of age.
Don't be
held back
by God.
This is the
way to be
fulfilled.
This is the
way to
get the
most out
of life.
But of
course,
having ignored
God's
warnings,
having
disobeyed
God's
commands,
the result
for Adam
and Eve
and for
all of
humanity
that would
follow
was not
a great
liberation,
was not
a new
and exciting
life,
but actually
a world
that quickly
turned
sour.
the
consequences
then,
verses
7 to
19,
we won't
go into
these in
great detail,
we don't
have the
time,
but they
are immediate
and dramatic,
aren't they?
Where they
had life,
verse 19,
they will
now face
death.
Where they
had pleasure,
they will
now face
pain,
verse 16.
Where they
had abundance,
verse 17,
they will now
have toil.
Work itself
will be
subject to
frustration.
Work that
should have
been fulfilling
and invigorating
and energizing
and delightful
will often
now be
hard and
boring and
monotonous and
difficult
and wearing.
where they
had harmony
in relationships,
verse 16,
they will
now have
conflict.
Where they
had fellowship
with God,
they will
now have
separation.
And notice
how as we
read through
these decrees
of God
and how
the rebellion
of humanity,
how the
consequences of
sin would
affect life,
would affect
Adam and
Eve and
the world
they lived
in.
Notice how
the very
fabric of
creation itself
is damaged
by this
rebellion.
So that
sin's
consequences
go beyond
just humanity,
they actually
distort everything.
You see,
humanity was
created back
in Genesis
chapter 1
as the
representative
head of
creation,
the apex
to rule
creation
under God.
They had a
distinct and
unique role
among everything
that was
created.
God breathed
his very
spirit into
them.
And that
meant that
the fate
and condition
of the
universe
was always
going to be
tied to the
fate and
condition of
humanity.
Which meant
that when Adam
and Eve
became
dislocated
from God,
the whole
of creation
was put
out of
joint.
Weeds,
droughts,
tsunamis
are all
indicative
of that.
That's a
reality which
is picked
up later
in Romans
chapter 8
in the
New Testament
when Paul
writes,
for the
creation
waits in
eager
expectation
for the
children of
God to
be revealed.
For the
creation was
subjected to
frustration,
not by its
own choice
but by the
will of the
one who
subjected it
in hope
that creation
itself will
be liberated
from its
bondage to
decay and
brought into
the freedom
and glory of
the children
of God.
See what
Paul's saying
there?
He's saying
that the
whole of
creation,
the very
fabric of
creation,
the very
structures of
nature itself
have been
brought into
frustration
because of
the rebellion
of humanity
but it will
be the
liberation of
humanity,
it will be
the revelation
of the sons
and daughters
of the living
God that
will be the
liberation
ultimately
of creation.
Creation
will only be
restored and
healed when
humanity
is restored
and healed.
Now that
doesn't mean
that we
shouldn't
bother being
good stewards
of creation.
Recycling
is good,
let me commend
it to you.
But of course
it means that
the world's
ultimate hope
and salvation
is not in
environmentalism,
as useful
and as worthy
as that is,
but actually
an evangelism
and men
and women
getting right
with God.
things cannot
continue as
they had
done.
God will
keep his
words,
the word
that he
gave in
chapter 2
that if
they rebelled
against him,
if they did
not obey,
they would
die and
God will
keep his
words.
The fact
is that
relationship
with God
and consequently
peace in
this world
were always
dependent upon
trusting God
and acknowledging
his good
rule.
And the
consequences
of the fall,
the consequences
for work
and for every
aspect of
our life
that come
in in
Genesis
chapter 3
and those
verses from
verse 14
onwards
are not the
spiteful
revenge of
a slighted
God.
It wasn't
God taking
the huff
and saying,
well if you
rejected me,
just you
wait.
I'll get
my own
back.
But those
consequences
were inevitable.
You see,
the world
can only
work well
when it
is in
step with
its maker
and its
sustainer.
It's like
removing the
firewall from
your laptop
and then
complaining that
the programs
have become
corrupted.
This
self-declaration
of independence
from God
could only
ever be a
disaster.
And of
course it
is the
cause of
everything
that damages
and spoils
our world
today.
Every
asylum,
every
hospital,
every
prison,
every
refugee
camp,
every
police
station,
every
slum,
every
employment
tribunal,
every
sexual
harassment
claim.
And within
a generation,
chapter 4,
you have the
first grave.
And then in
chapter 5,
you have a
cemetery.
A world
which is now
full of
alienation,
distrust,
conflict,
and death.
Well,
where does this
leave us?
Where did it
leave Adam
and Eve
and where
does it
leave us?
Well,
Adam and
Eve left
them hiding,
running from
God,
hoping,
it's bizarre
isn't it,
that God
would just
kind of go
away,
that he
might forget
about them,
that he
might not
have an
interest in
what had
happened.
And yet,
so many
people live
life like
that today,
don't they?
Have their
head in the
sand when it
comes to
God,
hoping that
perhaps they'll
be able to
make good
with some
metaphorical
fig leaves of
good works
or a bit
of religion.
People who
are now
detached from
any
great
purpose,
whether
vacationally
or morally,
hoping that
things will
just work
out okay,
that God
will leave
them alone.
But of
course,
God won't
go away.
This is
his world
and you
and I,
as Adam
and Eve,
are responsible.
We're
accountable.
And God
will ask the
same question
of every one
of us that
he asked
of Eve.
What is
this that
you have
done?
And yet
in the
middle of
this
judgment,
this fear,
the guilt,
the alienation,
there is
incredible
mercy,
isn't there?
Even here,
even in the
darkest of
all the
chapters of
the Bible,
God
shows his
mercy,
firstly,
in barring
the way
to the
tree of
life.
We see
enough evil,
don't we,
in the
years that
we have.
imagine
if Stalin
was still
alive today.
Imagine
if he
just lived
on and
on.
Nobody
wants that.
There's
mercy in
the provision
of clothing.
God
giving
practical
care,
even in
the face
of people
that have
snubbed
him.
Continues
to care
and to
send the
rain and
the sunshine
on the
righteous
and the
wicked
even today.
But of
course the
greatest
mercy in
Genesis
chapter 3
is that
despite all
this,
hope is
not lost,
that
restoration
is a
possibility,
that
paradise
can be
regained,
that intimacy
with God
could be
restored.
The promise
is just a
glimmer of
course,
we could
easily miss
it on
the first
reading,
but it's
there in
verse 15,
isn't it?
The seed
of the
woman will
crush the
tempter's
head,
that from
this
humanity
one would
arise who
would overturn
the fall,
who would
overcome
death,
the devil
and sin,
but who
would be
wounded even
as he
did so.
And the
hope of
Genesis
chapter 3
of course
is the
hope and
the story
of the
rest of
the Bible.
And the
glimmering
promise in
the ruins
of Genesis
chapter 3,
even as
humanity
is driven
out the
garden,
even as
that way
of life
is cut
off by
the angel
and the
flashing
sword,
is that
there can
be a
way back,
but that
the sword
would need
to be
dealt
with.
And the
way back
to God,
we could
stop there,
you know
the rest,
don't you?
You can put
two and
two together,
but for the
avoidance of
any doubt,
the way back
to God,
of course,
that one who
was going
to arise
was the
Lord Jesus
Christ,
born of
a woman,
the one
who would
destroy the
works of
the devil,
the one
who would
bear God's
punishment for
sin,
that we
might be
forgiven,
the one
who would
give life
to those
under the
sentence of
death.
A world
renewed,
and a world
that we can
look forward
to that will
be recreated,
a humanity
that will be
recreated,
even as men
and women are
born again in
the spirit,
and look
forward to
that day
of resurrection,
and a world
that will be
free from
frustration,
a world
where work
itself won't
be subject
to frustration
and difficulty
and boredom
and hassle,
but actually
will once again
be enriching
and joyful
and fulfilling
and glorious
to the glory
of God.
And may God
bless these
thoughts.
from his
words.
Amen.