This sermon focuses on two important questions:  Is God producing life or death in you? And Are you bringing life or death to those around you? Paul tells the Christians in this passage that he’s experiencing suffering so that God can bring comfort to him, so that he can then bring comfort to the church. We all need our own deep sense of the blessedness of God and His comfort. The Gospel is mercy and comfort to us so that we may be mercy and comfort to others. Paul experienced suffering for other people’s benefit. We cannot have an understanding of blessedness without expressing this comfort with others. The grace that God gives you is not for you alone. You live in the beauty of it, but then it opens us up to the needs of others to point them to the Father of mercies. The answer to the question of why we experience suffering is to see Christ flourish in the lives of others. You need a vision of what the Gospel can do in your life and in the lives of those around you. Don’t allow bitterness, resentment or unforgiveness to prevent you from bringing life to others. As you share abundantly in Christ’s suffering, so too you will share abundantly in His comfort. When you are afflicted, see that this is the means for God to work in your life, so that you can work in other people’s lives. In our culture, we’ve been trained to protect ourselves, and not give out of ourselves, but let God take you out of this fear. There is enough mercy for you. You don’t have to fear not having enough. God calls us in our weakness so we might show others the strength and power of God. All that we experience is not only for us, but for others also.