Hebrews 2:5-18 Suffering does not oppose love; it is a result of it. One of the grand purposes of human existence is to look more and more like Jesus. This is God's plan for us. It is one of the greatest gifts he could give. It is evidence that he has brought us into his family. If Jesus learned obedience through suffering, we will too. A path without hardships should cause us to wonder if we really belong to God. The challenge for us is to think as God thinks. In other words, our present thinking must be turned upside-down. We once thought that suffering was to be avoided at all costs; now we must understand that the path to becoming more like Jesus goes through hardship, and it is much better than the path of brief and superficial comfort without Jesus. When we understand this grand purpose, we discover that suffering does not oppose love; it is a result of it (Hebrews 12:8). We are under the mistaken impression that divine love cannot coexist with human pain. Such thinking is one of Satan's most effective strategies. It must be attacked with the gospel of grace. Edward T. Welch