Tolle Lege: Surprised by Suffering

Readability:  1

Length: 145 pp

Author: R.C. Sproul

In my opinion this is not the best book on suffering that I have read; neither is this the most thorough book on suffering that I have read, nor is this the most moving or powerful book on suffering that I have read. Why then read Surprised by Suffering? Well it’s Sproul for one; that almost always makes a book worth reading. His fluid conversational style, superb ability to tell a story, and masterful teaching ability ensure you to profit.

The great contribution I think this book makes is its emphasis on death as suffering and then seeing all suffering in light of heaven. Also Sproul does a good job of working out suffering as a vocation.

We are followers of Christ. We follow Him to the Garden of Gethsemane. We follow Him into the Hall of Judgment. We follow Him along the Via Dolorosa. We follow Him unto death. But the gospel declares, we follow Him through the gates of Heaven. Because we suffer with Him, we shall also be raised with Him. If we are humiliated with Him we shall also be exalted with Him. It is because of Christ that our suffering is not useless. It is part of the total plan of God who has chosen to redeem the world through the pathway of suffering.