“Whatever tribulation finds in us, it develops more fully.”
– Martin Luther
Thoughts?
Todd
4 thoughts on “Thoughts on a Quote: Luther on Romans 5”
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A lot of truty to this. If it finds anger, more anger develops; peace then the peace is strengthened.
Is this thought similar to the one that says you really don’t know what’s inside a person when they are squeezed? Have you ever seen venom and vitriol come out of a person who posed as good and kind? I have. Sometimes I’ve been shocked and other times I just waited for the reality of the person’s character to reveal itself. Tribulation strips away the superficial mask and reveals either the Wizard of Oz or Joan of Arc, a cobra curled up in the basket waiting to strike or a puppy licking your face, a lion ready to pounce or a kitten quietly purring. And regarding faith, tribulation often either drives a person farther away from God, full of anger and self-righteousness, or deeper into the arms of God, full of faith and humility.
It is the rough and narrow path which is part of our sanctification. It develops our ability to perservere in our faith. Through the Grace and abundant hope given by God.
If tribulation develops what it finds more fully, then the longer the tribulation lingers it should develop it to be even stronger; sometimes it does, but sometimes, particularly in the face of great time, just the opposite is true: someone who clung to God through years of adversity or tribulation finally gets beaten down and pushes away (whether for a time or forever), and someone who pushed God away finally finds comfort in His embrace.