When we stand ready to suffer for our faith, we are standing where Jesus stood and where he stands even now. He stands with one foot in heaven and the other up on earth, his hands and side scarred by the nails and spirit. He stands at the very heart of human history, human suffering, human death, anguish and tragedy.
But He stands there like a rock.
He stands there having injured everything, every human suffering in thought and body. and he says to us, this is where you must stand, not in a dreamland of faith that deceives you into thinking you can float into heaven on some cloud. No, if ever you are to enter heaven you will do so at the cost of serving God at the center of human suffering and tragedy, and your only earthly reward will be that people curse you for it.