The truths of the Bible are never just abstract concepts; they're always related to real people.

Most people wish they could erase suffering out of the dictionary. Today's culture of comfort and instant gratification has no patience for suffering - most people want to drug it, escape it, divorce it; do anything but live with it.

I'd rather be in this wheelchair knowing God than on my feet without him.

Suffering is arguably God's choicest tool in shaping the character of Christ in us.

Maybe the truly handicapped people are the ones that don't need God as much.

Programs, systems and methods sit well in the ivory towers of monasteries or in the wooden arms of icons. Head knowledge comes from the pages of a theology text. But the invitation to know God - truly know Him - is always an invitation to suffer. Not to suffer alone, but to suffer with Him.

If churches around the world would grasp the revolutionary truth that Christ's transforming power always comes through sacrifice and weakness, it would dramatically alter the landscape of the global church.