January 12 Daily Devotional

Monthly Theme:

The theme of the month is spiritual war. Jesus won the battle not by might but by obedience. He is the source of salvation for all who obey him. When we have stood the test, we will share Christ's glory.

Bible Reading:

Hebrews 2:10–13

Bible Text:

It was fitting that God ... should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering (Heb. 2:10).

Devotional:

Nothing is more authentically human than suffering. Wailing we come into the world, and many of us leave it in great pain. And the mental and spiritual sufferings of a lifetime are probably more intense than our physical hurts.

In order to be completely human, one must have suffered. Painters and photographers try to catch the strength and beauty of humanity in their pictures of young men and young women. But they capture the essence of humanity itself in images of those who have attended the school of suffering.

The God of glory made the Author of our salvation, who is Jesus his Son, "perfect through suffering." That does not mean that he was first imperfect, morally or otherwise. It means that Jesus became truly human, really and completely one of us, by the suffering he experienced.

Suffering is also our world's greatest problem. It has all sorts of medical and religious implications. Many say they cannot believe in a good God who would allow nice people to suffer. Most unbelievers say this without giving much thought to the subject; a few have said it after wrestling hard with the problem.

Let all sufferers think about this: The Author of salvation was immersed in suffering so that he could walk arm-in-arm with human beings and bring us to our glorious destiny.

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published in 1994. This edition is copyright by Faith Alive Christian Resources, from whom may be ordered Daylight, the predecessor of Twilight.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this edition of Twilight are from the New International Version

Be sure to read the "Preface" and the "Acknowledgments" by the author.