I had the opportunity to speak to the young adult ministry at my church recently, and from the moment I was asked to speak, I felt very strongly to speak on suffering. Based on the response of that night and subsequent weeks as well as general observation, I believe this topic requires a more thorough examination. In the end, my hope is that you will see suffering the way God intends and the Bible describes: as a gift.
I am going to tell you something up front: If you can get on board with what I'm going to say here, you can get on board with the subsequent posts. Truly, the other points I am going to make in the following weeks build off of this one. If what I write here isn't true, then the rest of what I write over the next 3-4 weeks is equally untrue and should be disregarded.
If what I write here is accurate and faithful to the main thrust of the Bible, specifically the New Testament, then it is at least a hard truth to swallow. It runs against human nature. It definitely runs against current societal norms. It even runs against competing and opposing theologies that exist in the Church worldwide. In other words, it isn't popular. And, if what I write ruffles your feathers, you can find plenty of pastors and 'theologians' who will disagree with me. They will make you feel better and remove that icky feeling you have when confronted with an ugly truth.
It is my hope that you will see with the same clarity what the New Testament says very plainly. If so, I believe you can walk down this road with me and find it more fulfilling than what either the world or the 'prosperity gospel' teaches.
Here's the truth: Suffering is promised to the Christian.
My guess is that some of you are thinking, "That's it? That's what all that build-up was for?" To those readers I would ask that you read the sentence again. All the multi-syllabic words are vital. First, suffering (see also trial, tribulation, and persecution) refers to any type of adverse affliction that affects the spiritual, emotional, mental, and/or physical life of a believer. I must point out that suffering as it is described in the Bible does not refer to the consequences from sin. The consequences from sin are primarily meant to bring about conviction, confession, and repentance. They are the natural outflow of sinful desires being imbibed. It is the law of sowing and reaping. Suffering, on the other hand, is most often brought to the believer, either directly by Satan himself, one of his minions, or through one of his servants (though they may not know they're one of his servants). Suffering takes the form of persecution of all kinds, martyrdom, mental disorder, disease, and grief, to name just a few.
John Piper, in his book Desiring God, illuminates this point as it pertains to the Christian:
"[Any] suffering that befell [Paul] while serving Christ was part of the 'cost' of discipleship...What turns sufferings into sufferings with and for Christ is not how intentional our enemies are, but how faithful we are. If we are Christ's, then what befalls us is for His glory and for our good, whether it is caused by enzymes or by enemies."
The most controversial segment in the truth above, that suffering is promised to the Christian, is the word promised. My impression is that many Christians (read: people who go to church) would be okay if I simply said, "Suffering is part of the life of a Christian." And that's true. Suffering isn't the whole of Christianity. Not at all! It is one part of the Christian life. However, if that is all the further we go with our understanding of suffering, we will likely decide that suffering, though part of the Christian life, is merely a small part of my Christian life. Others may suffer greatly, but not me. I'll probably only have to suffer a little.
What's fascinating to me is that this kind of thinking crosses the generational divide. On either side of the generational gap, there is built into the social zeitgeist an aversion to suffering. On one end of the spectrum are the Baby Boomers (yes, the Greatest Generation is still alive and kicking, but their numbers are diminishing with each year, and thus the Boomers are at the top). The Boomers solidified the modernist thinking and pragmatic ways of life whose foundations were built by the Greatest Generation. While they, at first, were known for 'rebellion', once they turned 30, they settled down, had families, made massive advances in technology, manufacturing, management philosophies, and so forth. When in doubt, they build a better system that will be more efficient so that everything can run smoothly and with little mess. On the other end are the Millennials, also known as my generation and younger (I'm 28, for those keeping track at home). We are known for postmodern thinking, existentialist philosophies to life, and each person doing what makes him/her feel happiest while allowing that same liberty to others. If something is deemed unsavory or overly challenging, it is most often avoided. We are more content to go after that which is easier, more available, and most pleasing at that moment. In between these two poles you have a myriad of combinations of each, and they all add up to a desire to avoid suffering whenever possible - either because suffering is messy and seemingly inefficient or because suffering is hard and not immediately pleasing.
Against this, we have the New Testament, wherein we see that suffering is promised in the normative life of the Christian. I will here only expound on three passages, starting with the most vague and moving to the most concrete. In the following weeks, I will continue to add to the cache of verses emanating from and implicated in this one truth. In addition, for the sake of your own personal study, I have placed a longer list of citations at the end of this post for your consideration. If nothing else, you will see the sheer weight of New Testament evidence, from which I am only pulling a few references (I grabbed several references from this message by Francis Chan.).
1 Corinthians 15:19
If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
I primarily have John Piper to thank for the formation of this thought. When you read that verse, the question that should come into our minds is, "Why?" Why pitied? Some would have us believe that, as Christians, the 'worst-case scenario' is that we live a good, moral life and then die. If nothing happens, as an atheist would have us believe, or if we are reincarnated as a Hindu would have us believe, then we are no more worse off because at least we lived a 'good' life. We were kind to the destitute; we gave to charity; we cleaned up the neighborhood park; we worked with abuse victims; we went to church, read our Bibles, prayed. And on and on. Is that kind of life that should be pitied?
John Piper writes about how this kind of life - a simply moral life - is well within reach. In referencing Paul's writing in this passage, Piper states, "He (Paul) means there is a normal, simple, comfortable, ordinary life of human delights that we may enjoy with no troubling thoughts of heaven or hell or sin or holiness or God."
We have to take a step back and look at Paul's life in order to understand why this would be true. He writes to the Corinthians in a subsequent letter, "Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches (2 Co 11:24–28)."
Why pitied? Because along with the many blessings of following Christ, there is also suffering to endure. Paul is saying that, if living for Christ only matters here and there is no eternal reward, then Christians should be pitied - looked down upon - because their estate is, in fact pitiable. This may seem foreign in our society, though I would point out that it is becoming less and less that way. We must keep in mind that, beyond the context of the time (mass persecution of Christians was rampant in the early church), these men and women were living unabashedly for Christ. They talked about Him openly. They prayed together in homes and in public. They shared what they had with one another (Ac. 2:42-47). They lived in a way that displayed Christ all the time. Honestly, if you and I really, truly lived in a manner that was completely sold out to the cause of Christ, we would face derision from some friends, family members, and co-workers. We may not be physically persecuted in the United States (though it's certainly a possibility), but we would most assuredly be socially and emotionally persecuted at some levels.
Mark 10:29-30
Jesus said, "Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life (emphasis added)."
This is a 'here's what you're really signing up for' teaching from Jesus. When I was speaking to the young adults on this passage, I pointed out that really weak prosperity preachers will try to use this passage to show that God promised us wealth and possessions and great relationships here on earth. I say those preachers/teachers are weak because they have to totally omit the words 'with persecutions' in order for their point to stick.
What Jesus is saying here is that, while one must give up much, yea even everything, for Christ and the gospel, that person will receive back much with the addition of persecutions, culminating with eternal life in glory. When God saves us, we forsake our old desires and pick up new desires, His desires. We submit to His will for our lives. This sometimes means we lose relationships. It can mean giving up an extravagant lifestyle in order to adopt a child or support a missionary. It can mean giving our stuff to those less fortunate. It will mean sacrificing our time, talent, and treasure (thanks, Pastor Mark) in order to display the greatest treasure, Jesus Christ. Alongside this sacrifice, we see much gain, namely the fellowship of the Body of Christ and, ultimately, spending eternity with Jesus.
We also gain something else: persecutions. Living for Jesus and the gospel will bring all the rewards listed above. It will also bring persecutions and suffering. Thus, when Jesus promises the abundant life found in Him (John 10:10), suffering is part of it.
2 Timothy 3:12
Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
Um...do I need to comment on that?
I will only add here a (somewhat) humerous quote from C.S. Lewis's The Problem of Pain: "The real problem is not why some humble, pious, believing people suffer, but why some do not (p.104)."
The biblical evidence is quite clear at this point: Suffering is promised to the Christian.
Next week: The Gift of Suffering: It's Grace
Further New Testament verses on suffering for your consideration:
Matthew 10:24-25, 34-39 Mark 8:34-35
Luke 6:22-23 John 15:18-20
Acts 5:27-42 Romans 8:16-18
1 Corinthians 4:10-13 2 Corinthians 1:3-7
Galatians 6:12 Ephesians 6:11-12
Philippians 1:29 Colossians 1:24
1 Thessalonians 3:3-5 2 Thessalonians 1:5
2 Timothy 1:8; 2:3; 3:12; 4:5 Philemon 9
Hebrews 12:3-7; 13:12-13 James 1:2-4
1 Peter 4:12-19 2 Peter 2:1-3
1 John 2:26 2 John 7
3 John 9-10 Jude 4
Revelation 1:9
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