I (Nick) remember the first time the truth of scripture hit me. I had been a believer for a few months, and I had been reading a ton, but on this particular night, scripture whacked me in the back of the head It was the story of Lot leaving Sodom. It suddenly made sense. Something clicked that told me not only were these things true, but they spurred me to action. My response shocked me. I couldn't wait to tell everyone about it. It changed me.
Fast-forward a few years.
It was my second semester of college. I was starting to serve heavily at my church, I was growing immensely, and then I got whacked again. This time it was the story of Peter and John in Acts 5. A phrase that I had read at least a hundred times before suddenly confronted me. "So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name." That didn't make sense to me. They had just been in prison. They had just been beaten and flogged. They were just threatened not to talk about Jesus. And their response was...rejoicing? Not only rejoicing because they had been beaten and flogged but because they were considered worthy to suffer? Something was off.
I had to know more so I started studying. The results again were staggering. Jesus said that if we did not take up our cross and follow Him, then we were not worthy of Him (Matt. 10:38). He went further, as we see in Matthew 16, and said that we must deny ourselves and take up our cross. The thing that struck me was that the cross was an execution device. It caused suffering. And we're supposed to do that daily (Luke 9:23)? I thought Christianity was about going to church, and singing songs, and loving people. I thought following Jesus lead to sitting in the front pews, and then in the choir loft, and then eventually to Heaven; I had never heard that following Jesus lead to death. But something still wasn't right. I decided to go back to the scriptures.
Peter's a bit of a mystery to me. He was at times bold, but when it really mattered he split. He failed. He did seemingly the ultimate wrong thing in my mind, he denied Christ. But there he was just a few months later getting flogged for the sake of Christ. And not only that, but he was rejoicing over it. Seeing the resurrected Jesus and receiving the Holy Spirit changed him. I wondered if he had anything to say.
"...but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing...If you are reviled for the name of Christ you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you." (1 Peter 4:12-14)
This turned my world upside down. If we suffer for Christ, we are blessed? If God's spirit is on us, then we suffer? This is exactly the opposite of what I had seen and been taught. I had always heard that if the spirit of God were on you then you were successful and had a nice house and a good family. I had always been taught that God blessed you by building you up. But Jesus tells us to deny ourselves and to die daily. Peter tells us to rejoice and embrace suffering because it is a sign that God is blessing us.
It finally made sense. I had to abandon the world's idea that good = success, and that bad = failure. I realized that I had been lied to when people said that godliness = material gain, and evil = material loss. But it also got me thinking about something else.
What if this idea was truly embraced by the church? We wouldn't come in on Sundays down and depressed when we had a bad week; we would come in excited. When things were going bad we would rejoice together. Worship would be radically different. Evangelism would completely change. We would see the world as dying sinners who need the love of Christ and we would suffer in order for them to see it, instead of merely saying that they're pagans who are going to hell. Life would radically change.
"A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master." Matthew 10:24-25
"For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me." Philippians 1:29-30
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
I think it should be noted here that all suffering is NOT suffering for Christ. For example, even if you are miserable, it doesn't mean that you are blessed or even will be blessed.
A good article. Thanks for sharing some milestones in your life, along with some important biblical insights that all of us as believers should keep in mind.
Seth, you're absolutely right. People suffer a lot of ways that have nothing to do with Christ or His kingdom. In fact, here's what 1st Peter 4 says (pay special attention to verse 15):
12Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. 15But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. 16Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. 17For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
Post a Comment