RR. The Good that Suffering Can Bring

What can still grow in your life after you’ve been hurt? John Ortberg explores that question through a story author James Michener remembered from childhood: an aging apple tree, eight rusty nails, and an unexpected harvest.

Years later, after heart surgery and other painful health challenges, Michener returned to that image. He resolved to keep bearing fruit. John connects his story with the poetry of John Milton and the lives of Hank and Jan, a couple whose faithful care for one another became a powerful expression of love.

John does not try to explain away suffering. He invites us to consider what love can still look like within it: noticing someone who feels invisible, offering help, caring for a loved one, or doing our ordinary work with God.

The episode closes at the cross, where nails hammered into a tree become part of the Christian story of self-giving love. Your wounds matter. What might God help you grow from here?

Scripture connections: Matthew 25:14–30; John 15:4–5, 12–13


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Music Credits:
Welcome to the World by Sarah Watson
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