This
quote is from John Bradford, the fifteenth century martyr who, upon seeing
evil-doers taken to their place of execution would exclaim, "There but for
the grace of God goes John Bradford.” Mr. Bradford understood “he who sows to
his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows
to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.” He knew beyond any
doubt it was God’s grace and only God’s grace that enabled him to sow to the
Spirit.
Some saints apply this quote to suffering in
general, to the adversity of life. It is good to recognize it is only God’s
grace that spares us from the suffering around us, not super faith, not
passionate holiness, not any works of righteousness we may have done. But this “sparing”
is not a lifestyle, rather an interlude, as scripture repeatedly declares: “And if we are His children, then we are His heirs also: heirs of God
and fellow heirs with Christ, sharing His inheritance with Him; only we must
share His suffering if we are to share His glory.” “We must share His suffering
if we are to share His glory”! We will all spend time in the valley of
suffering, as well as the mountain top of rejoicing. Every saint will have the opportunity to
demonstrate their grace under the pressure of suffering, for suffering is no
respecter of persons. We are appointed to suffering... adversity, the speed
bumps on the narrow gated difficult road into transformation... into Christlikeness...
Endnote; “In the day
of prosperity be joyful, But in the day of adversity consider: Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other … Shall we indeed accept
good from God, and shall we not accept adversity
… I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what
is lacking in the afflictions of
Christ … No one should be shaken by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we are appointed to
this.”
THERE
BUT FOR THE GRACE OF GOD GOES (insert name)
(Gal. 6:12; Rom. 8:17
Amp.Bible; Ecc. 7:14; Job 2:10; Col 1:24; 1 Thess. 3:3)
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