“In a cynical world, nothing is more powerful than our inner and outer worlds matching…If you don’t view your circumstances through a resurrection lens, even low-level, persistent evil, such as an arrogant boss or a critical spouse, can bend your soul to the pain. Like a stubbed toe, evil rivets you, fixing your gaze in its direction. Initially you resist, but eventually evil’s tenaciousness can wear you down. Even if you forgive, evil can seize and hold your attention, like a claw in the back of the brain. The chains dig into your soul, creating open blisters of the heart. Unwittingly, you become caught in its web and give in to cynicism or bitterness. You cannot be passive in the face of evil. If you are, it will eventually eat you alive. When Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was imprisoned in Siberia, he initially responded with hatred to his persecutors. Then he realized that the line dividing good and evil wasn’t between him and them, but down the middle of his own heart. He, too, had become a murderer, in need of grace. He wasn’t passive; he actively repented for his own hatred and then forgave the men abusing him.”

“so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard[a] and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.” Philippians 1:13

“Joining Jesus in his death liberates us from bitterness; joining Jesus in his resurrection frees us from joylessness. Dying with him removes the negative; living with him gives us a positive vision. A resurrection lens creates a new way of looking at life: We live expectantly, watching for God to work. We pray expectantly for God to work. We focus on the good and not the bad.”