from Chapter 19

“Where Is the Church When It Hurts?”

Today, if I had to answer the question “Where is God when it hurts?” in a single sentence, I would make that sentence another question: “Where is the church when it hurts?” We form the front line of God’s response to the suffering world.
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue, but with actions and in truth.”

Yancey, Philip. Where Is God When It Hurts? (Zondervan: Grand Rapids, 1990), 265.
1 John 3:16-18

I have deliberately limited myself to only twelve quotes from this book, as with every book which I feature here, but there is so much more that I wanted to share with you. Of course, I’ve shared these twelve clips to whet your appetite to want to read the book for yourself, so by all means get this book and read it. The research is well documented, and the insight is helpful, both for one who suffers and for one who desires to come alongside others who suffer.