Do we need to suffer for the sake of
the gospel and if so why?
Count it all joy when we fall into
diverse trails of any kind. A totally foreign statement to our natural
understanding, something we despise and look to avoid at all costs, until God
gives us spiritual to see the purpose behind it all. A new perception behind
the purpose of suffering become a way of life. But only when we yield to the
Word of God. There is absolutely no hardship in the life of a Christian that
isn’t working for good, moulding and fashioning the Christian into a better
image of their Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ, when they learn to “let go and
let God” work in their lives. This is such a beautiful truth when objectified
that it silences the gainsayers. Every second of your pain in suffering is
producing a peculiar type of grace in your lives, it doesn’t matter if it is
cancer, HIV, or any other life threatening illness or any form of smear;
it’s all working together for good. John Piper tackles this and affirms that we
can’t see what it’s doing in our lives, in other words we won’t understand it,
and yet we should understand it if we learn to feast on scripture. The Bible is
full of these types of encouragements; “Count it all joy,
my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds” (James 1:2) and “Since
therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of
thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from
sin, so as to live for the rest of the
time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.” (1 Peter 4:1-2) - Suffering of any kind drives us towards the will of
God in our lives. However, although all types of suffering works out for our
good. When we learn or have to learn in the way I have learnt so many valuable
lessons through rebellion and folly, when we suffer because we are dull of
hearing. This is not really our objective, BUT GOD! Who is rich in mercy
travels the extra mile even in our comatose states, He disciplines his children
because of His great love. We serve an awesome God! We strive under the grace
of God to appropriate this truth into our lives; “For
what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if
when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this
is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For
to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you,
leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.” (1 Peter 2: 20-21) - Even the tragic loss of a
child, as painful as that may be, when we focus on the end game, it’s our
Heavenly Father who is glorified, isn’t that what we all want the most, don’t
we want to bring glory to our God? “As it’s working an eternal weight
of glory for you.” (John Piper) - Suffering allows us to realise and
embrace this, without it, we remain self-absorbed individuals. It’s
how we respond to the trial that needs toil. Grace must be entwined into our
faith and in turn that produces a beauty beyond comprehension, it gives us
endurance, it’s like an energy bar or a protein shake for the bodybuilder. We
know that the Lord Jesus ascended into heaven and He is now seated at
the right hand of God. Here is an example that got Gods attention, do you
remember Stephen and the way the mob stoned him? Here is that account; “Now when they heard these things they
were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, full of the Holy
Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at
the right hand of God.” But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their
ears and rushed together at him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned
him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning
Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And falling to his
knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord,
do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said
this, he fell asleep.” (Acts 7:54-60) – I could spend time unpacking this
account but I don’t think it is needed, I will just highlight some of the key
points that I want you to consider.
Regardless of where we are steered,
whatever comes across our paths in the form of tribulation and the diverse
suffering we face as Christians, its working towards our eternal inheritance,
bless the name of Jesus now and forever more, Amen and Amen! Our mantra must
shift as we thank God that we are considered worthy enough to be counted
amongst those who have suffered for the sake of the gospel. It’s all about
being conformed to the will of God and we must learn to leave behind the
thinking’s of the world’s perceptions. Quotes like, “you deserve to be happy”
and the like impregnate the brains of those perishing. What they mean by those
types of statements. We are entitled to happiness around our
selfishness which is always tainted with the stain of sin. God teaches us that
suffering eradicates our self-centeredness.
Let me conclude like this, Stephen fell
asleep, look at the text, in other words he move from this life into the next,
death has been conquered by our glorious Saviour, and He conquered it through
the finished work of the cross. We needn’t fear death, it should no longer have
its claws in us. It’s our faith that feeds our hope, and one day we will be
with our God to forever rule and reign with Him. The grander the suffering, the
better the chance of those witnessing the travail have a chance of being saved.
Saul a devout Jew who persecuted the Christian witnessed the stoning of Stephen
and he later became known as Paul, the man God use more than any other apostle
to bring us sound doctrine through his writings in Scripture.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be
with your spirit.
Signing off
Tyrone
Ps to suffer martyrdom for the sake of
the gospel is truly a blessing and not a curse. For those who God has taken and
will still lead down that road, their reward is waiting for them in heaven.
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