Grace and suffering

     Humans are God's favorite. The grace and favor of God is for all of us, period.  The book of Genesis tells the story of Joseph who was so hated by his brothers that they stripped him of every human right by throwing him into a pit, and selling him into slavery.  God's grace was with Joseph, even through his suffering, and God's grace is with each one of us today, even through our own suffering.   Ephesians 1:11 explains how and why we have the grace and favor of God.  "In him [Christ] we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him [God] who works out everything in conformity to the purpose of his will" NIV (emphasis and parenthetical notations are mine).  From the very beginning, God chose us, through Christ because it was God's will to do so.  We are God's favorite because he chose us, and his grace is with us in spite of our suffering.  A good thought to remember today is that suffering is not an indicator of the absence of God's grace.  Somehow, God uses human suffering to polish his grace into a sparkling gem.