How do we enter the Kingdom of God?

Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. Acts 14:22

The best things of life come out of wounding. Wheat is crushed before it becomes bread. Incense must be cast upon the fire before its odors are set free. The ground must be broken with the sharp plough before it is ready to receive the seed. It is the broken heart that pleases God.

The sweetest joys in life are the fruits of sorrow. Human nature seems to need suffering to fit it for being a blessing to the world.

Revelation 7:17

For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. 

Thoughts on This Verse....

What a beautiful picture! The One who died for us will nourish and refresh us. The One upon whom all eternity hinges will take time to personally comfort us. No wonder Paul could say that he did not consider his present sufferings worth comparing to the glory that would be revealed to us! (Romans 8:18)

Spiritual Thoughts 

.. There are many who want me to tell them of secret ways of becoming perfect and I can only tell them that the sole secret is a hearty love of God, and the only way of attaining that love is by loving.  You learn to speak by speaking, to study by studying, to run by running, to work by working; and just so you learn to love God and man by loving.  Begin as a mere apprentice and the very power of love will lead you on to become a master of the art. - Francis of Sales

.. God permits some to suffer most, that they might experience the deepest joy.

Quotes 

"If I was a nightingale I would sing like a nightingale; if a swan, like a swan. But since I am a rational creature my role is to praise God." — Epictetus

"If you have been tempted into evil, fly from it. It is not falling into the water, but lying in it, that drowns." — Author Unknown

Children
 

"Any man who declares children to be born perfect never was a father. Your child without evil? You without eyes, you mean!" 

"Ye have lost a child; nay, she is not lost to you, who is found in Christ; she is not sent away, but only sent before; like unto a star which, going out of sight, does not die and vanish, but shines in another hemisphere."