God answered my prayer for gentleness in Bob’s life by my serving Bob while he went through a lengthy time of suffering. Bob’s sufferings flowed over into my life. According to Paul, that is the essence of ministry: “For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too” (2 Corinthians 1:5). Suffering opens the door to love. Suffering reaps a harvest of real change.
