I was watching a science fiction movie where the two main actors were willing to sacrifice their lives in response to a technical threat to the entire planet. They did it without reservation for the good of mankind which had been greatly reduced by this advanced machine technology.
About two thousand years ago, a Man faced an angry crowd, inspired by Satan, demanding His crucifixion, even though He had done no wrong. He did not cry out to profess His innocence; He did not whine or complain, but He took it all in stride because He knew that His sufferings and death were preordained and necessary for the ultimate good of mankind. That Man was Jesus Christ. He was rejected, persecuted, mocked, scorned, spit upon, punched, scourged, crucified and eventually killed by a Roman soldier’s spear which pierced His side—knowing that all of this was prophesied long before His death.
Why would He do that, since He had done no wrong and was innocent of the charges laid against Him?
He did it for the good of mankind, even though the world then or today did not and does not understand the scope or grasp the significance of His sacrifice. He did it so that man could ultimately fulfill his destiny to become God beings—to offer salvation by His blood for mankind, which was and is totally unappreciated at this time.
He attained perfection as a man through the things He suffered—learning how He could stay obedient in the face of trials. Not that He was ever disobedient, but He had to experience what it is like to be a man and not to sin. As a spirit being and the second member of the God Family prior to becoming a man, He never had to go through these kinds of physical sufferings to “learn” obedience.
As a man, He set a perfect example for us and gave us an important lesson, in that we are perfected through trials and suffering. If you look at a silver bar, you will see stamped into it 99.9999 %, which means, almost all the impurities have been removed from it. As silver ore, it is melted down and the dross comes to the surface, which are the impurities within it, and they are skimmed off. This process may be done several times to achieve the 99.9999 percentage state.
As Psalm 66:10 clearly states: “For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined.”
Our trials and our sufferings which we face are purifying us towards perfection, so that we can become immortal God beings in the God Family. Furthermore, we will receive a golden crown, gold being the most perfect metal in the physical existence. We will achieve the gold standard, and we will also be given a white robe, signifying righteousness or our righteous acts, because at that time we will be perfect and totally righteous before our God.
I know, trials are not easy, and some of us have gone through quite some serious ones since observing the Feast of Tabernacles, but if you look at them as being perfected towards becoming a God being, they are easier to bear.
Paul said the sufferings in this world were all worth it to attain salvation in the Kingdom of God, so let us not let trials affect us in any negative way, but let us look forward to being in the Kingdom because the current trials and sufferings are preparing us to become God beings.
