Why Do We Suffer?
A survey of Paul’s Second Epistle to Timothy
Part 2 of 3
Khen Lim
Image source: record.adventistchurch.com
5. Never oppose untruths without God
I know this point very well. In my past, I’d thought knowing
the Scripture was enough to pick up arguments and win them. In many ways, it
became a contest of head knowledge and personal vanities. They were essentially
done without placing my trust in God to lead and eventually, I somehow lost the
plot as I got into disputes over what was and wasn’t the truth. More often than
not, in these disputes, I ended up making matters worse.
It isn’t much different with those who come to Christ, freshly
charged with fiery zeal. I remember almost twenty years ago when my parents had
not come to Christ, two of their old friends came for a visit and tried sharing
the Gospel with them.
Unfortunately, it didn’t go down well. The moment their
friends challenged them to break their Taoist altars and statues and follow
Christ, they lost my parents. It took many years of reversing the effects for
my parents to eventually accept the faith. Till today, it is doubt that these
two friends know what they did.
In the epistle, Paul warns:
“Again I say, don’t get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that
only start fights. A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to
everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. Gently
instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s
hearts and they will learn the truth. Then they will come to their senses and
escape from the devil’s trap. For they have been held captive by him to do
whatever he wants.” (2 Tim 2:23-26, NLT)
Often the problem with taking matters into our own hands is
that we end up being bitter and/or argumentative. Before we know it, we turn an
anthill into a mountain with a veritable slippery slope where hurt is commonly
the result. Either we get hurt or the other party does or as is often the case,
both sides get hurt. It’s about time we cede wisdom and direction to a
trustworthy God who will lead us in the overturning of any opposition to His
truth.
6. Never forget the past
In fact, God was very adamant about this as early as during
the days of Moses. Here’s what Moses said to God’s people:
“Remember the days of long ago; think about the generations past. Ask
your father and he will inform you. Inquire of your elders and they will tell
you.” (Dt 32:7, NLT)
God commanded Moses to remind His people who the Lord, their
God was. The Lord wanted them to remember and acknowledge that it was He who
created the world and who ultimately saved them from doom after their exodus
from Egypt. That is the reason why Genesis is the first book in the Bible.
It is,
after all, the very beginning of life. It is at that very point, that all three
– the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit – were present for the days of Creation
when the Earth was formed, light was introduced for separate day from night,
land and sea emerged before it was then populated by plants and trees, the
animals and then humans.
In all of this, the wonderment of the world presents
itself as a true reminder of the Creator Himself. God wanted all of us to
remember it was He who is behind all of Creation.
In Exodus chapter 20, God reiterates the same reminder in the
first of the Ten Commandments:
“I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the
place of your slavery.” (Ex 20:1, NLT)
Here, it was the immediacy of the event that God wanted His
people to remember. When the Ten Commandments were introduced, the Jews had
already come a long way from having left their enslavement behind. God used the
Commandments to set a moral code for His people to abide by and of all of
these, the very first one, the prime of the ten was a reminder that He was
their God and it was He who brought them to freedom. God felt strongly that the
importance of this event must not be lost on them.
Four thousand years later, God still wants to remind us of His
pre-eminence in our lives, His deliverance and how only He can fill our lives
with contentment that no Man can offer. The fact is that, for all of us
Christians, it was ultimately He who saved us. In all our suffering days, those
were our bleak history.
In fact, for many of us, that suffering still continues
although in different forms. We remember the days when everything went wrong or
when we thought the worst was over when in fact it wasn’t. Or when even our
usually reliable friends would disappoint us. What about those darkest hours
when we desperately wanted someone to talk to but there wasn’t anyone around.
In our suffering, inevitably there was God. The point of
remembering Him is that in all of history, He was the sole reliable rescuer. No
matter the odds stacked against us and regardless of the insurmountable
suffering that we faced, God was the One who turned things around. In his
second epistle to Timothy, Paul writes:
“You know how much persecution and suffering I have endured. You know
all about how I was persecuted in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra – but the Lord
rescued me from all of it.” (2 Tim 3:11, NLT)
From the tone of the passage, it is obvious that being close to
Paul, Timothy perfectly understood the sufferings he endured especially in the
places he mentioned. In Pisidian Antioch, religious antagonists drove him out
of the city (Acts 13:50-51) whereupon he went to Iconium.
There, together with
Barnabas, they shared the Gospel in a synagogue but the same thing happened. A
mob of Gentiles and Jews had planned to stone them, forcing them to escape
(14:1-5). Fleeing to Lystra, Paul was eventually stoned.
Thinking he was dead,
the crowd dragged him out and dumped him beyond the city gates (14:19). In
fact, because Timothy was from Lystra, it’s likely he saw what happened (16:1)
and from thereon, joined him to become a missionary.
But Paul remembered that amidst all of that, “the Lord rescued
me.” He did not forget. He did not let the gravity of his sufferings cloud his
memory. He was clear on the fact that if it were not for God, he would have
been killed in any of those episodes.
In fact, his gratitude towards the Lord
resonated for much of his letter. In the following chapter, he mentioned it
again:
“The first time I was brought before the judge, no one came with me.
Everyone abandoned me. May it not be counted against them. But the Lord stood
with me and gave me strength so that I might preach the Good News in its
entirety for all the Gentiles to hear. And He rescued me from certain death.”
(2 Tim 4:16-17, NLT)
Surrounded by such discouraging circumstances, Paul could
still find it in him to acknowledge God. In fact, look back at Paul’s life of
ministry and be amazed at how he was destined for one adversity after another;
that in these many hours of trial, he was always aware that the Lord always
stood by him.
God had said to Paul that He would show him all the things that
he would have to suffer for the cause of Christ. His first ministry in Damascus
ended in him escaping via a basket lowered down a wall (Acts 9:23-31). Then in
Lystra, as we know, he was stoned (14:19). When he went to Philippi, he was
beaten and placed in stocks in prison (16:16-40).
In Thessaloniki, he beat a hasty retreat from the rioters under
a cover of darkness (17:1-10). In Berea, he escaped by subterfuge (17:10-15).
In Athens, he was rejected (17:16-34). In the wicked confines of Corinth, it
was more of the same (18:1-17).
In Ephesus, Paul again escaped once riots broke
out over his preaching (19:23-20:1). Back in Jerusalem, his fellow Jews would
have had him killed were it not for a Roman armed intervention that rescued him
(21:27-32).
On his way to Rome, his ship was tossed about in the middle of a
violent storm for fourteen days until everyone probably gave up trying to survive
(27:13-20). Yet they did (27:22-27).
Considering a life of almost-continuous strife since turning
to Christ, Paul’s unfailing gratefulness to God shows us how invaluable it is
never to forget the role He plays in being there for us.
Image source: todayschristianwoman.com
7. Never ignore God’s resources
When we are caught in a tailspin of suffering, we forget many
things. Consumed by suffering, we not only forget about staying positive but
also our faith gets battered. We become knee-deep in frustration, flailing
anxiously and looking in complete despair.
Yet we struggle with all our might,
trying to gain control, using whatever that is at our disposal but no matter
what we do, we find ourselves going nowhere fast. Even when things don’t look
good, we’re still grappling at wanting our way but sometimes, the more we try,
the worse it gets.
And all this while, God has resources that we could have
used that would’ve saved us all our trouble. They would’ve been more effective
but invariably, we hardly think of putting Him first (Mt 6:33).
The most obvious resource God offers is His grace. That’s
available for those who believe in Him. In several places in his epistle, Paul
reveals the importance he places on the availability of God’s grace:
“May God the Father and Christ
Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy, and peace.” (2 Tim 1:2, NLT)
In greeting Timothy, Paul asks for God to bestow upon him,
“grace, mercy and peace.” Grace is the unmerited favour God mercifully gives us
through His Son, Jesus Christ whom He let die on the cross so that humanity’s
eternal salvation from sin can be secured.
This is the love and mercy that only
God can give to us and He does so because He desires greatly that we have it
not necessarily because we have done anything to deserve it but because this is
the benevolence that He shows to the human race for whom He is the Creator:
“For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not
because we deserved it but because that was His plan from before the beginning
of time – to show us His grace through Christ Jesus.” (1:9, NLT)
Through God’s divine grace, He imparts strength to endure even
the toughest trials and to resist the temptation to succumb to the flesh. Paul
says of Christ in his epistle to the Corinthians:
“Each time He said, ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in
weakness.’ So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses so that the power of
Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in
the insults, hardships, persecutions and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For
when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Cor 12:9-11, NLT)
That strength is essential because it defines the amazing
grace God offers to us. In moments of human weakness, God supplants with His
undeniable strength so that we may be upheld even in our darkest hour. And that
strength is all we need to get past whatever severities that afflict us:
“Timothy, my dear son, be strong through the grace that God gives you in
Christ Jesus.” (2:1, NLT)
When we talk about God’s strength, we allude to His infinite omnipotence.
He is not only powerful but He is powerful all the time, every time, everywhere
and anywhere. Regardless of the situation, His power overrides all.
Irrespective of who He is against, His power casts them into oblivion.
And no
matter where in the world, God’s power reaches everyone, young and old and of
whatever complexion and race. For Christians, the power of God should not be
something we only read about but instead, it is important that we experience it
in our lives. It is only then that we understand the need to draw upon and rely
on His strength:
“For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do
what pleases Him.” (Php 2:13, NLT)
God’s strength that works in us can have multiple purposes. I
remember the time around 2013 when my late mother told me before her cancer
operation that if Jesus removed her tumour and saved her, she (and my father)
would accept Christ as their Saviour.
But there was a slight problem – she
couldn’t be operated upon immediately until she’d her cough cleared. That meant
would be another week or so.
Almost a fortnight later at the Selayang Hospital (Malaysia),
my mother was preparing to be wheeled to the operating theatre. There she was,
at 6:30am, lying on the bed about to depart, she cheerfully waved at the
friends (fellow cancer patients) she’d made in the ward. What we didn’t know
until she revealed after the
operation was stunning.
Miraculously, after a six-hour operation that normally
required patients to wait at least two days before they could even sit upright,
my mother was up and about in less than twenty-four hours. She could walk
herself to the bathroom, pulling along her drip stand.
And she was remarkably
bright and happy. It was then that confessed to us that she’d gone for the
operation with her cough still intact. In other words, she didn’t reveal the
truth to the operating team. We couldn’t believe it.
In all her life, my mother had never prayed to Jesus. Up till
that point, she was an avowed Taoist with the plethora of pagan gods that she
‘believed’ in. While she was being wheeled to the operating theatre, those gods
were jettisoned from her mind.
It was along the cold corridor that she closed
her eyes and quietly thought of Jesus. In that moment, for the very first, she
spoke to Jesus, acknowledging that He was the Son of God. She asked Him to
please stop the coughing so that the operation could commence smoothly.
As she told us that, she acknowledged that she had experienced
God’s miracle in her life. And in all the six hours that she was under the
knife, she did not cough. She realised that Jesus was unlike any of the pagan
gods that she’d been accustomed to all her life.
And it was then that she came
face to face with the One and only Living God. Within a day or so thereafter,
my parents accepted Christ at the cancer ward and said the Sinner’s Prayer.
My late mother’s testimony is exceptional for a few reasons.
Firstly, she’s never experienced God’s real power before, not directly
especially and secondly, she’d waited till she was in her eighties to do so.
But by doing so, she didn’t have to read about God’s power anymore. She had
experienced it personally and it was so overwhelming that she found real faith
in Him through Christ.
And after that, she boldly went to the pulpit and spoke
to the people on the day of her baptism where she addressed so many of her
unbelieving friends who listened in awe. Like what Paul said to Timothy, my
late mother was certainly not embarrassed to do so for Christ:
“So,
never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord. And don’t be ashamed of me,
either, even though I’m in prison for Him. With the strength God gives you, be
ready to suffer with me for the sake of the Good News.” (2 Tim 1:8, NLT)
It wasn’t plain sailing for my mother after proclaiming her faith
in Christ. Her cancer was there as a reminder of her suffering. But none of
this stopped her from reading the Bible and finishing it. She consumed the
Daily Bread monthly editions.
She read whatever she could and she had a list of
names belonging to friends and family members including relatives whom she felt
needed praying and she kept that faith every night, petitioning God to heal and
comfort them. As if she didn’t have her own problem to think of.
For a baby
Christian, she was remarkably strong and a humble lesson for even the more
spiritually matured among us:
“A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.” (Eph
6:10, NLT)
My mother finally succumbed on October 22 2015, exactly seven
days before our twin daughters were born. In the same hospital.
8. Never ignore the gifts God gives us
Thirdly, each of us has the God-given ability to serve Him.
This is, in essence, a gift that He has given to us, a gift that may be
different from one person to another but they all work towards the glory of
God. With these spiritual gifts, we are to use it to vigorously advance His
kingdom and to actively bring unbelievers to Christ:
“This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave
you when I laid my hands on you. For God has not given us a spirit of fear and
timidity but of power, love and self-discipline.” (2 Tim 1:6-7, NLT)
Even when suffering invokes fear, concerns and doubts, Paul
reminds us that God has given us more than enough to walk the walk with
everything we have in our midst. Other than strength, He’s also given us love
and self-discipline.
During my early university years, I learned that a close
school friend of mine had turned Christian. And all I could think of was what a
waste of a talent because as a truly talented guitarist, he could have had an
amazing career filled with success. Instead he went to Singapore, joined an
Assembly of God church, got married and fervently built his life around Christ.
He was so talented that at a very young age, Berkeley offered
him a full music scholarship with a leading local private music tutor sponsoring
his flight including board and lodging in the U.S. With all of that, none of us
understood why. Despite all the support and encouragement, he turned away from
the commercial world with a truly lucrative talent.
For most people, it was a
very ‘radical’ move. For me, I didn’t begin to understand it until I became a
Christian a few years later and then took another decade-and-a-half to come to
grips with his decision. That was when I, too, became deeply involved in music
ministry.
Becoming musically involved in praise and worship, I began to
understand my friend’s decision and commitment. God had used people like him
and me to His glory through music. With the seed of the gifts planted inside
us, God called time and used us just as our talents bloomed.
Very much
according to His plan, we utilised our gifts to praise and worship Him,
organise choral works and produced music for our respective church’s Easter and
Christmas programmes. It was a great love of labour and a sheer honour to be
able to use our musical skills to this level of adoration of Christ.
Other than music, God had also given me the gift of writing
and with that, I was given the means to bring people to Christ and to reach
others throughout the world so that they may know and understand Him and to
bring glory to His Name.
Once I began to join the dots, I realised how far
ahead God’s vision is for each of us. He planned everything decades ahead so
that in good time, we could use what He gave us to do His will.
Image source: Church Militant
9. Never ignore the Holy Spirit
As the third person of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit is
God and He is spiritually active in the world we live in. But the problem
remains that even for many Christians, there are misconceptions about His
identity. Some think that He is a mystical force.
Some others believe He is an
impersonal force that the Father has made available to those who believe in His
Son. But then what does Scripture say about who the Holy Spirit is?
Well, in the main, the biblical position is that the Holy
Spirit is God, that He is a divine person, a very being that possesses a mind,
emotions and a will. In Acts 5:3-4, Peter’s description of the Holy Spirit is
undeniably God:
“Then Peter said, ‘Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart? You
lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself. The
property was yours to sell or not sell as you wished. And after selling it, the
money was also yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You
weren’t lying to us but to God!” (Acts 5:3-4, NLT)
Peter made it very clear that to lie to the Holy Spirit is to
lie to God. The two are the One and the same. In Psalm 139:7-8, David affirmed
God’s omnipresence, saying:
“I can never escape from Your Spirit! I can never get away from Your
presence! If I go up to heaven, You are there; if I go down to the grave, You
are there.” (Ps 139:7-8, NLT)
The Holy Spirit’s omniscience is also made clear in Paul’s
epistle to the Corinthians:
“But it was to us that God revealed these things by His Spirit. For His
Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. No one can know
a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit and no one can know God’s
thoughts except God’s own Spirit.” (1 Cor 2:10-11, NLT)
In His divinity, the Holy Spirit possesses what we expect God
to have – a brilliantly perfect mind, a range of emotions beyond what we can
fathom and an extraordinary will. He thinks and He knows (1 Cor 2:10). He can
be hurt like we can (Eph 4:30). He does intercede for us (Rom 8:26-27) and He
decides according to His will (1 Cor 12:7-11).
As God, He functions as the
Comforter and the Counsellor that Jesus promised He’d be (Jn 14:16, 26, 15:26).
With all this in mind, it is easier to understand how Paul
frames the Person of the Holy Spirit in his writing to Timothy:
“Through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully
guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you.” (2 Tim 1:14, NLT)
Although Paul has mentioned the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 as well
as in Romans 5:5, this is the only passage in his second epistle to Timothy
that he mentioned Him. Here, Paul defines the role of the Holy Spirit as one of
protection and strength. He said something similar when he ended his first
epistle to Timothy saying, “guard what God has entrusted to you” (1 Tim 6:20,
NLT).
Just as Paul had been entrusted (2 Tim 1:12), Timothy was likewise
entrusted with much also. Paul had commanded him to guard the truth and to
persevere in following Christ.
We too are reminded that it is the Holy Spirit who grants us
spiritual power. Just like Timothy, we must also be bold and protective of our
faith and we should not fear being part of the Body of Christ that endures pain
and suffering at the hands of those who hate and oppose Christ.
10. Never be without the Word of God
No matter the suffering, it is the Word of God that not only
keeps us grounded but offers us perspective. Even as opposition forces restrain
us, they cannot keep the Word of God from abounding. The Word will move
regardless of what anyone tries to do to stifle it:
“And because I preach this Good News, I am suffering and have been
chained like a criminal. But the Word of God cannot be chained.” (2 Tim
2:9, NLT)
Paul did neither wrong nor illegal to proclaim Christ and yet,
he found himself in prison, “chained like a criminal.” Although he’d mentioned
chains earlier (1:16), this time, it was unlike his first Roman incarceration
where, for two years, he was under house arrest in his own dwelling.
Instead,
Paul finds himself in a far more serious situation, one where he could meet his
end. Although he knew at that point he might not live for much longer, he
rejoiced at the fact that no one could stop the truth of the Gospel from
spreading.
Even as he was chained up, Paul continued to reach out to
Timothy as well as his congregation and other early churches, manifesting
itself eventually as an integral part of the New Testament today.
“Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will
suffer persecution. But evil people and impostors will flourish. They will
deceive others and will themselves be deceived. But you must remain faithful to
the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can
trust those who taught you. You have been taught the Holy Scriptures from
childhood and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that
comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is
useful to teach us what is true and to make us realise what is wrong in our
lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God
uses it to prepare and equip His people to do every good work.” (2 Tim
3:12-17, NLT)
In a world filled with evil, deceivers and false teachers are
everywhere to the extent that they can be difficult to avoid. Their abundance
can make it hard to turn away from their wicked messages but the exception is
to conduct ourselves in line with Christ. This often and invariably means that
we will suffer for Christ’s sake; something Paul had used his letter to explain
to Timothy.
When the noise of the world gets ‘too much’ on the soul, Paul
encourages the one source that will cosset us from harm and preserves the
unerring truth of God’s Word. Scripture is therefore our own means of staying
the course, helping us to right what is wrong and equipping us every day to be
in readiness to do good work. It is also the best reminder to stay steadfast to
Christ without whom we’d all be doomed.
Therefore, we are all called to be prepared and stay prepared
for the day will come when Christ will return when it’s time to “set up His
Kingdom.” In that time, Paul has laid down the groundwork for us to achieve.
Interestingly,
when Paul says, “I solemnly urge you” (2 Tim 4:1, NLT), the original Greek
translation indicates this is no casual or informal request. Rather there is a
strong sense of urgency, commanding us to seriously commit to such a momentous
responsibility. It is, in many ways, a solemn warning that comprises a few
parts.
Firstly go spread the Good News. Proclaim it. Publish it. Seek
people to share it. Whatever it is, centre purely on the Word of God and avoid
embellishments. Just do it.
Next, Paul asks of us to start preparing and to do
so decisively so that we can be ready to answer His call. Good time or not,
that is a command to be equipped however we feel.
Thirdly, work with our people
to guide them well. Correct where they are wrong. Reproof and convict so that
all errors are exposed.
Fourthly, do not ignore any errors that need remedying.
Instead, give God’s truth the honour it deserves instead of treating it
lightly. In other words, censure where necessary. Be of great encouragement and
help them to stick to biblical truths.
Above all, do all this with loving
patience even in the midst of error until people understand:
“I solemnly urge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who will
someday judge the living and the dead when He comes to set up His Kingdom:
Preach the Word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favourable or not.
Patiently correct, rebuke and encourage your people with good teaching.” (2
Tim 4:1-2, NLT)
As we edge ever closer to the end of days, the world will
become an even harder place to stake our claim. People are less bothered to
search for the truth let alone accede to its demands. They will not stop and
listen to something that demands of them much of their faith and obedience.
Rather they will long only for what they lust after that is evil. Morality will
cede. In its place, people will only hear what they desire to hear. The truth
will no longer matter except myths (Jer 2:13, Rom 1:18-31, Gal 1:6-7).
Image source: kidlit.com
11. Remember that you are not alone in your suffering
It’s easy to think that when we suffer, we do so when others
aren’t. That’s not only wrong but it’s also a short-sighted view of how others
around the world are burdened in their own ways. We all have our crosses to
bear and no two crosses, in this regard, are going to be the same. And
furthermore, there’s no telling how anyone can see one’s suffering is worse
than another’s.
It isn’t incorrect to say that everyone suffers. If it isn’t
today, it would’ve been sometime in the past. For some people, the suffering
comes along with humiliation and therefore it’s difficult to share with others.
Therefore, suffering is done in silence and the effect is loneliness. For some others,
the suffering has gone on for a long time. It might have started in the past
but it hadn’t stopped since. In fact, as time progressed, the suffering could have
escalated. In a nutshell then, suffering is more common than many of us
realise.
Suffering can also be in different forms and nature. Someone
might suffer because he has been jobless for too long. Someone might suffer
because he has a debilitating sickness and is in pain. Someone might suffer
because he struggles to socialise and therefore finds himself having no
friends. Someone else might be suffering from being constantly bullied by his
peers and therefore feels worthless.
Another person might be suffering because
he’s unhappy with his parents constantly arguing and never at peace. Yet
another person might be suffering because he has marriage problems he finds
difficult to share with others.
Throughout the whole world, people are suffering. None of us
are alone as a result. Suffering is so common even if every one of us tries our
best to put on a happy face. For Christians, suffering is part of our makeup
with many passages in Scripture that substantiate this. Here’s a very
well-known one:
“You will be hated by everyone because of Me, but the one who stands
firm to the end will be saved.” (Mt 10:22, NIV)
To believe in Christ, those who hate Him will also hate us but
whomsoever who stays grounded in the Word will endure and be saved forever. In
the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus assures us that in Him, there are good reasons for
our suffering and those (good reasons) grant us eternal peace in His Kingdom.
Here’s another one:
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say
all kinds of evil against you because of Me.” (Mt 5:11, NIV)
Since we are followers and believers of Christ, people will
not only bring suffering upon us but will lay false charges against us,
inflicting evil and heaping woe. But even so, we will be blessed. Though we will
suffer in our lives, we do so knowing that God will keep blessing us. He will
make Himself known to us and in His presence, we shall be comforted even amidst
our suffering.
Here’s one more:
“For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ
but also the privilege of suffering for Him…” (Php 1:29, NLT)
This is a rather unusual way of putting it. Paul in his
epistle to the church in Philippi refers to suffering for Christ as much a
privilege as it is to be His follower.
Indeed it is – the honour of being given
the opportunity to bear the suffering in the Name of Christ assures us a place
in His Kingdom. And for that, I am reminded of this very relevant but beautiful
passage at the tail end of the Gospel of Matthew:
“Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.
And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Mt
28:20, NLT)
In this passage, Jesus affirms that He will always be with us
till the end of time. Given the context here, it means that we are not alone in
our suffering. Jesus is with us. He will be there to comfort us. His presence
reminds us of why we endure what we have to endure.
And all along the way, He
will hold our hand. He has your back and mine. That in itself is reassuring.
Remember too that in our suffering, there are those who pray
for us. These are the prayers of our fellow believers:
“Timothy, I thank God for you – the God I serve with a clear conscience,
just as my ancestors did. Night and day, I constantly remember you in my
prayers.” (2 Tim 1:3, NLT)
Just as Paul expresses his love for Timothy by constantly
including him in his prayers, so too did my late mother. Towards the end of her
all-too-brief life as a Christian, she kept praying for a long list of people
who included her own family and relatives as well as friends. She prayed for
those who were ill (just as she was). She prayed for those with financial
problems. She prayed for those who simply needed the Lord’s intervention.
And
she kept at it even though her cancer was spreading. Even when people would
have understood that in her condition, she could’ve stopped praying, she
didn’t. My late mother took it to heart to plead the case of all those in her
list before a God whom she had accepted in her life.
As Christians, we’re never alone. Even for those who are
continually persecuted in far-flung countries, Christians all over the world
keep praying for them just as so many do for Israel. Part of the miraculous
story of Trump’s presidential victory in late 2016 was that he had a very
substantial proportion of the evangelical vote.
And through into the night of
the election, Christians all over the country were praying for him to triumph
over Hillary Clinton. In fact, some believe that many Christians outside of America
had also prayed for him that night.
There is also that ‘fellowship of suffering’ in which tens of
thousands of our fellow believers are in the throes of facing hardships in all
forms for the sake of Christ:
“…that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the
fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death…” (Php 3:10,
NASB)
The importance of sharing in Christ’s sufferings is one few
aspects of Christ’s life that undergirds our faith. The problem with this is
that many are falsely convinced that being Christian releases them from
hardship.
This is an increasingly popular but misguided understanding often
propagated by not only churches that pedal the prosperity message but also
modern motivational speakers who dabble in biblical terminology in their
presentations.
Living for Christ must include both the joys and struggles of
Christ. What this means is that we are then called to meet suffering head-on.
As it is with Paul as an example, he led a faithful life diligently serving
Christ but he also endured tremendous hardship that led all the way to his
death:
“So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord. And don’t be ashamed
of me, either, even though I’m in prison for Him. With the strength God gives
you, be ready to suffer with me for the sake of the Good News.” (2 Tim 1:8,
NLT)
Just the same, in his exhortation, we learn importantly that
our sufferings are not ignored. Just as we remember those who suffer for Christ
at the hands of their torturers, we too are in the prayers of those who know of
our hardships.
So whether we pray for those in countries that persecute
Christians or those who are ill and feel the loneliness of their fight, there
are also brothers and sisters in Christ who also pray for us to endure our
sufferings. We may not know them by name but we all share the same loving
Saviour in Christ:
“Remember those in prison as if you were there yourself. Remember also
those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies.” (Heb
13:3, NLT)
Footnotes
for article only appears at the end of Part 3
Final part 3 of 3
continues on December 17 2017
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