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  THE CROSS A SOURCE OF OUR PLEASURE.
  by Francois Fenelon
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Summary: The cross is a source of our pleasure when we suffer with
humility and peace, and our love for Christ is magnified.

Topics: "The Cross", "Christian Suffering"
Scripture References: Matthew 16:24, Romans 8:17, Galatians 2:20, 1 Peter 4:16, Revelation 21:4

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DESCRIPTION
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Francois Fenelon emphasizes the importance of carrying the cross with
Christ in this temporary life, reminding believers that their suffering
will soon end as they will reign with God who will wipe away their
tears. He encourages humility and peace in the midst of trials,
cautioning against self-love that can exaggerate distress. Fenelon
highlights that true joy comes from embracing the cross with love for
the Well-beloved, as it molds believers into His image and strengthens
their bond of love.

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CONTENT
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LETTER XIX.

The cross a source of our pleasure.

I sympathize with all your distresses; but we must carry the cross with
Christ in this transitory life. We shall soon have no time to suffer; we
shall reign with God our consolation, who will have wiped away our tears
with his own hand, and from before whose presence pain and sighing shall
forever flee away. While this fleeting moment of trial is permitted us,
let us not lose the slightest portion of the worth of the cross. Let us
suffer in humility and in peace; our self-love exaggerates our
distresses, and magnifies them in our imagination. A cross borne in
simplicity, without the interference of self-love to augment it, is only
half a cross. Suffering in this simplicity of love, we are not only
happy in spite of the cross, but because of it; for love is pleased in
suffering for the Well-beloved, and the cross which forms us into his
image is a consoling bond of love.

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Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/francois-fenelon/the-cross-a-source-of-our-pleasure/
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