In
1997 a Virginia man, Richard Norris, had an accident when a shotgun discharged
in his face. Miraculously, he lived through the trauma; however, he was
horribly disfigured as a result of the blast. Norris had no teeth, no nose and
only part of his tongue and jaw. He was still able to taste but could not
smell. Norris endured dozens of surgeries to repair his face, but eventually
reached the limits of what conventional surgery could do for him. When he went
out in public, usually at night, he hid behind a hat and mask.
Norris
eventually slunk into depression. He felt like a science experiment gone wrong
as he could detect people’s gawking eyes on him and could hear snide remarks
from cruel detractors. Eventually, Norris became a hermit, threw out all the mirrors
from his home, fought addiction and contemplated suicide.
However,
a medical breakthrough occurred which utterly changed his life. In 2012 Norris
became one of the first in history to receive an extensive face-transplant
surgery. Norris would now wear the face of a former 21-year-old Maryland organ
donor, Joshua Aversano, who died after being struck by a minivan while crossing
the street. Besides getting used to his new appearance, Norris had to relearn
basic tasks such as eating, talking and shaving. Amazingly, Norris’ new mug was
featured on the cover of a 2014 issue of Gentlemen’s Quarterly magazine.[1]
But
even if he could go back in time, he's not sure he would erase the accident
that left him severely disfigured. “Those 10 years of hell I lived through, it
has given me such a wealth of knowledge,” Norris recently told The Associated
Press. “It's unreal. It has put some of the best people in my life.” What got
Norris through that extreme ordeal? He told reporters that it was his faith in
God. Norris said, “Jesus sustained me through these trials. A drop of hope can
create an ocean. But a bucket of faith can create an entire world. Sometimes
God will put you on your back to make you look up.”[2]
That’s
an amazing perspective to have and one that resembles a passage that Paul wrote
in Romans 5:3-5, “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because
we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and
character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out
his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”
Suffering,
although never desirable, is actually one of God’s greatest tools in shaping
saints. The long-term benefits that come from suffering are manifold—it deepens
our faith, reprioritizes our life, instills Christ-like character, shatters our
outmoded ideas about God, makes us more compassionate and produces a hunger for
the eternal. That is why people who have suffered like Norris can come through
the fires and say, “If I had it to do over again, I wouldn’t change a thing.”
Bible
teacher Ray Steadman comments on the above passage like this, “How do you get
to the place where you can rejoice in suffering? The apostle's answer is,
"We rejoice in suffering because we know...” We rejoice because we know
something. Our faith enables us to know, a kind of inside information that
others do not share. Worldlings lack it totally. What do we know? Paul says, “Knowing
that suffering produces...” Suffering does something, accomplishes something.
It is productive. It is of value. Watch a woman in labor; watch the expression
on her face. If you have any empathy in you, you can't help but feel deeply
hurt with her because she is going through such pain. And yet, there usually is
joy in the midst of it because she knows that childbirth produces children. It
is the child that makes it all worthwhile. Suffering is like that because it
produces something worthwhile.”[3]
Ultimately,
suffering makes us more like Jesus. In the midst of a trial a certainty grows
in our hearts that God is doing His work just as He promised. He is transforming
us into the image of His Son and that is why we rejoice. -DM
[1] “Richard
Norris, Face Transplant Recipient, Adjusting to New Life,” Associated Press, 28 June 2013 <http://www.cbsnews.com/news/richard-norris-face-transplant-recipient-adjusting-to-new-life/>
[2] BENGE
NSENDULUKA, “Man Models Face Transplant; Credits Power of Faith, God for
Surgery Success,” Christian Post, 30
July 2014 <http://www.christianpost.com/news/man-models-face-transplant-credits-power-of-faith-god-for-surgery-success-video-124081/>
[3] Ray
Stedman, “Rejoicing in Suffering, Romans 5:3-10” <http://www.raystedman.org/new-testament/romans/rejoicing-in-suffering>
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