The Cross a Source of Our Pleasure.
The cross is a source of our pleasure when we suffer with humility and peace, and our love for Christ is magnified.
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.
Text
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.
Sermon Outline
- The Cross in Our Lives
- The Value of the Cross
- The Joy of Suffering
- Love is pleased in suffering for Christ
- The cross forms us into Christ's image
Key Quotes
“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.” — Francois Fenelon
Application Points
- Let us suffer in humility and peace, recognizing that our self-love exaggerates our distresses.
- We should focus on our love for Christ, rather than magnifying our own suffering.
- The cross is a temporary trial that will soon be over, and we will reign with God in eternal consolation.