He Suffereth It

I once asked someone how much she loved her mother. She said she loved her "so much." Then I asked her what she would do for someone who loved her so much that He would take all of her guilt and fears and pains and illness and anger and sorrow and then continue on to give His life for her so that she could be happy. She responded with "everything." I told her to think of how much she loved her mother and to combine that love with how much her mother loved her. Then, I asked her to multiply that feeling by 100. The Savior has more love for each one of us than 100 times the love that we have for one another. That love is INFINITE, that love is ETERNAL.

Just like that, Christ did everything for us. So what do we do for Him? If it isn't "everything" then maybe we need to take a step back and change that.

1 Nephi 19: 8-9

"And behold he cometh... And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught, wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it; yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men."

As I was reading these verses, I found myself reading and rereading them. "...he suffereth it..." He suffereth my pains. He suffereth my sorrows. He suffereth my weakness. He suffereth my choices. "...he suffereth it..."

He endured so much pain, and so much sorrow, and so much persecution...for me. And what have I done? Sinned. Sinned again. Sinned some more. Why? Because I have weakness. But guess what? Because of Christ--because He suffered--I am not a "sinner." No. I am a Repenter! When I make a wrong choice, I don't wallow in it; I don't let it swallow me whole! I repent of it. I change. Why do I change? Because I owe it to Christ; I owe it to the One who "suffereth it." Every time. Without question. And He knows that I owe it to myself. That's why He suffered it all.

So here is my promise, as public or as unseen as this may be:
I will NEVER take it for granted.
"...he suffereth it..." And because He suffereth it all, I repenteth.

I will go to church EVERY Sunday. I will get there EARLY. I will reflect on the fact that "...he suffereth it..." for me. I will strive to remember that Christ and my Father in Heaven love me. I will partake of the sacrament and renew my promises to Him weekly. Because "...he suffereth it..."

Christ loves me. He loved me from the beginning and He loves me still. He will always and forever love me. And HE LOVES YOU!

So who are you going to become? And what are you going to do?

With love,
Sister Johanna Mae Palmer
A California Riverside Sister Missionary