Which would you choose?

One easy way of discipling my wife is to offer her good audio to listen to during work-outs, errand running, chores, etc. Yesterday Kristin listened to John Piper's message, Living to Die, and was struck by the following statement:

If you had a choice of having a healthy baby or one with very special needs, which baby would you choose?

We made that choice several times during the adoption process; each time we picked the healthy baby.

Piper reminds us that the Apostle Paul was never scared off at the possibility of difficulty--suffering wasn't even a factor in what he decided to do. He did not interpret "countless beatings", "sleepless nights", and "daily pressure" as a sign from God to change his ways (see 2 Cor 11:23-28).

But that's why he's the Apostle, right? That can't be normative for you and me! But it is; Paul again, "I urge you, then, be imitators of me." (1 Cor 4:16)