In this
second post I'd like to start adding a biblical foundation to what we've looked
at so far. So here goes...
Paul tells
the Corinthians: "For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so
through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too" (II Cor. 1:5). Paul
doesn't say, "Jesus suffered so we won't have to suffer in this
world." Instead he says, "Jesus suffered so that he can comfort us
when we share abundantly in his sufferings in this world."
Paul tells
the Philippians: "For it has been granted to you that for the sake of
Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake"
(Phil 1:29). He doesn't say, "It has been granted to you for the sake of
Christ that you should avoid suffering," but rather "that you may
suffer...for his sake."
The word
"granted" that Paul uses here I’ve had to research before. It
literally means "to give as a gift." Paul is saying, "It is a
gift to us that, for Christ’s sake, we should suffer for him." The gift is
the suffering, not the removal of the suffering.
Paul tells
the young pastor Timothy, "Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony
about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel
by the power of God" (II Timothy 1:8). He doesn’t say, “The power of God
in the gospel will remove your suffering,” but rather, “The power of God in the
gospel will enable you to suffer well.”
A chapter
later he repeats the same idea: "Share in suffering as a good soldier of
Christ Jesus" (II Tim. 2:3). He doesn't say, "God doesn't let good
soldiers of Christ suffer," but just the opposite: "Share in
suffering!" The good soldier is certain to suffer.
We see this
in particular when Paul told a group of recent converts that "through many
tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22). Paul says,
"You can count on it, if you want to get into the kingdom, you are going
to have to endure a lot of suffering."
I don't
think it's an accident that Paul said that just three verses after this
occurred: "But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded
the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he
was dead" (Acts 14:19). When Paul says we must enter the kingdom through "many
tribulations" he didn't mean getting funny looks in class for standing up
for Jesus, he had his stoning in mind.
In Romans 8,
Paul famously writes: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or
danger, or sword? As it is written, 'For your sake we are being killed all the
day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.' No, in all these things
we are more than conquerors through him who loved us" (Rom. 8:35-37). He
doesn't say we are delivered from tribulation, distress, persecution, and
sword; but rather that "in all these things" (in the midst of the
suffering) we are more than conquerors.
We do not
conquer our sufferings by watching God remove them from us, but by watching God
turn them all for our good.
My Bible
teacher and friend, Jerry Ediger, has said hundreds of times that the
grace he has received from God and the spiritual growth that has occurred in
his life as a direct result of being paralyzed has made the wheel chair worth
it. He is more than a conqueror in the midst of his suffering, not in the
removal of his suffering.
Peters
writes, "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes
upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice
insofar as you share Christ's sufferings" (I Peter 4:12-13). Suffering
should never surprise a Christian. In fact, it should be an occasion for joy.
(I fail at this 99.9% of the time.)
"For it
is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for
doing evil" (I Pet. 3:17). What is so interesting about this particular
passage is that Peter doesn't say, "It's God's will that you not suffer,
so pray and ask him to remove your suffering." Instead he says, "It's
God's will for you to suffer for doing good sometimes. Don't be
discouraged."
Peter says
it again later: "Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will
entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good" (I Pet. 4:19).
He doesn’t say, "Trust that God is a faithful Creator who will remove your
suffering in this life." Rather he says, "Trust that God is a
faithful Creator even when he wills your suffering in this life."
I don't
think the prosperity gospel, as preached by TD Jakes, Joel Osteen, Mike Murdock
(and many others), can deal honestly with these texts. In their minds God
always wants suffering gone from your life right now. He wants you to be
healthy and have a lot of money. But that’s just not always true.
Alright, we'll try
to wrap this thing up in the next post. Thanks for reading!
