Is There a Point to the Last Minutes of Suffering Before Death?

by John Piper

So someone might ask — I ask — does the suffering itself that ends in death make a difference? Is there a point to it?

The answer is yes. One of the most precious promises for final suffering is 2 Corinthians 4:17:

This light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.

This says more. It says more than affliction is followed by glory. It says affliction prepares glory. Literally, suffering produces — effects, brings about, works — a peculiar glory for those who suffer.

What this means is that no suffering is meaningless. None of it is wasted. The last cry of pain, leading to death, is not merely followed with glory, but rewarded with peculiar glory — a special glory prepared for the sufferer and by the suffering.

  __________________

This is an excerpt from a blog post by John Piper.  For the entire post, visit the Desiring God website here.