Ouff...we really don't like that word...or what it means. We don't like to even think about suffering or doing anything uncomfortable.
Well I have some news for y'all, as followers of Christ, suffering is one of the things we should expect.
A couple of months ago I heard a sermon by one of my favorite pastors and he was talking about suffering. He went through the whole New Testament and picked out verses that talk about suffering. The best part of this whole thing was, there was at least one verse in every book of the New Testament that talked about some aspect of suffering. It was really neat. Matthew through Revelation, there was one in every book, even the small one that we tend to forget about.
Later that same day, I get my lovely wife to listen to this same sermon, telling her how cool it is and she writes all of the verses down for reference later. So I decided that for my next topical study I would look at all these verses. I am about half way through the verses and I have found pretty much what I said in the 3rd sentence. We should not only expect suffering in this life but if we are not suffering, just a little bit, I think we can consider that a red flag and it may be time for some kind of change in your relationship with Christ.
Let me give you a few examples of the verses I have been studying.
2 Corinthians 1 says that we abundantly share in Christ suffering as well as his comfort.
Romans 8 says that we, as followers of Christ, are heirs along with Christ, provided we suffer with him. However we should not consider the sufferings of this world to be equal to the glory that is to come.
It makes me sick, literally I get a horrible taste in my mouth when I hear the health and wealth fo-gospel. It is totally malarkey!! To think that Jesus died on the cross, so we could live a cushy, comfortable, wealthy life here on earth is totally selfish on our part. How dare we degrade the sacrifice of Jesus by believing that he died so our checkbooks could be balanced and bank accounts be filled. I shutter at the thought of "preachers" leading people astray with this horse manure.
Paul says that if we share in His sufferings, we will also share in His glory.
As I said there is at least one verse in every book of the New Testament that speaks about believers suffering. You know what is not in the New Testament? Verses about God wanting you to be healthy, wealthy and prosperous.
Now I am not saying all this to say that we need to all go out and take a beating for Jesus. But our longing for comfort and not suffering keeps us from doing anything at all when it comes to our faith. If Jesus has had a real impact on your life, you should want to tell others about it and not care about what they think or the "suffering" you will endure because of it.
Remember, the suffering you endure cannot even come close to the glory that will be revealed.
May our LORD be with you
Josh
