That great American writer, Mark Twain, wrote: "Most people are bothered by those passages in Scriptures which they cannot understand; but as for me, I always notice that the passages in Scripture which trouble me most are those which I do understand." I suspect that, at times, we all would like to walk away from the church and never come back. We want a God different from the one we find in Jesus.

Flesh and blood? Yes. But demanding? No.

Resurrected? Yes. But crucified? No.

Salvation? Yes. Repentance? No.

Love? Yes. Commitment? No.

Unfortunately you cannot have one without the other. The rose comes with the thorns. The pains come with the birth. Night come with day. The best of times can only be lived because there are those times that are so bad.