As I reflect on the day where we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, the day where He conquered sin, defeated death and brought us the realization of the promise of life eternal through the act of the shedding of his blood and his death on the cross. In the days before, we journey with Jesus as he agonizes in the garden, goes through the mock trials, is falsely accused, beaten and whipped, made fun of, and then ultimately sentenced to death by one of the most painful methods of execution. He chose to do this because of his incredible love for me. That blows my mind. First of all to go from unlimited into a frail human frame is wild enough, but then to choose to take on my sin, and die for me… He suffered and died so that I may live.
The other day I was listening to Catholic radio as I was driving. I wrote down some thoughts that were being discussed. When it comes to suffering, it is often noted that Christians like to focus on suffering as a positive thing. The key to understanding suffering is to understand the suffering of Jesus. Suffering is not just God up in heaven messing with my head or something. It is purposeful. Refining is not a process that is painless. It requires fire [great heat] and ultimately being shaped into something I am not. But in the end it yields a pure metal, ready to be formed into something new! It is glory! The point is, that if I want to share in glory of Christ, I must also share in His sufferings. The ultimate purpose of suffering is to draw me close to Christ in intimacy with him. To the world the idea of suffering is foolishness. There are all kinds of ways to ease suffering – and improve comfort. From softer mattresses, to convenient food to all kinds of medication, we don’t like anything that causes discomfort. But the reality is that suffering brings a deeper life in Christ. For example, the church in China is thriving and growing under all kinds of oppression and persecution. How wild is that? We are comfortable in the US and, by and large, we are also fairly nominal and apathetic. The truth is that when you love someone, it will involve suffering. But out of that suffering comes fruitfulness. A mother will experience great travail in birthing her child, but she brings forth a life and a bond of love between her and that child. Her suffering yields a great glory of life.
“The great purpose of the wilderness is to forge great fellowship — between us and Christ.”
Our suffering in the now is temporary. A momentary light affliction, as the scripture says. But the greater weight of glory that it produces will be extraordinary in the next life. So that’s what I hope for – that greater glory. I don’t feel like I have ever truly suffered for the sake of Christ. But I pray that should the persecution come, I would be ready and willing to stand and suffer for Christ. We all have gone through dark nights of the soul — times of wilderness. These are the times that show us who we really are in that “space behind the face.” It is during those wilderness times where we work out our salvation with fear and trembling. As Bob said the other day, “The great purpose of the wilderness is to forge great fellowship — between us and Christ.” So that fellowship with Christ is deepened when we experience suffering and know that we are being refined in purity and will come forth as pure gold.
This journey of the life of Christ which ends in His defeating death and hell and giving the gift of life for all who would believe is the incredibly amazing news of the gospel! To be able to share in this journey with our Savior… what an honor!