Emphasis Preaching Journal

Does suffering serve some purpose? In the book, The Robe, Marcellus, the centurion in charge of Jesus' crucifixion, goes throughout the countryside visiting those who had been touched by the life of Jesus. Among those he visits with is a young woman named Miriam, who is paralyzed.

He discovered that Miriam was a bitten young woman until she encountered the Christ who gave her the ability to sing. "If Jesus gave you the gift to sing with just a word, why did he not speak one more word and give you the gift of mobility?" asked Marcellus.