Suffering for the Name

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

–Romans 5.1-5 (NIV)

Yesterday we looked at the problem of forgiveness and reconciliation between God and humans, and what our response should be to God’s gracious offer to us in Jesus. I suggested that part of our faithful response should be made manifest in our actions, in our becoming Kingdom workers in which we follow the example of our Lord Jesus. I will let you read about that if you are interested or if you have not already done so.

Today I want to focus on one aspect of following Jesus. When we deny ourselves, take up our cross each day, and follow Jesus, we will inevitably be confronted with suffering as Paul reminds us in the passage above. But why would he glory in his suffering and why should we? What is Paul talking about here?

If my own experience is representative, whenever I read about suffering for Jesus’ Name I inevitably think about passages from Acts in which we see Peter and Paul flogged and beaten. Or I think of Stephen’s martyrdom. But most of us don’t live in a culture where we have to worry about being flogged or killed for Jesus’ name–at least not yet. So what does it mean to suffer for Jesus?

If you have consciously forgiven someone who has wronged you terribly because Jesus commands us to do this, especially when everything in you screamed not to forgive, you know what it means to suffer for Jesus’ sake. Overcoming the hurt and anger that someone else has evoked in you is not an easy thing to do and we must put to death, with the Spirit’s help, our desire to retaliate or take revenge on our enemies. That means we will suffer.

If you have ever prayed for a killer or rapist or terrorist and then faced the wrath of the family or friends of the victims of these perpetrators, you know what it is like to suffer for Jesus’ sake. If you have ever spoken out against the increasing immorality that is killing our society and faced the ridicule from more “enlightened” folks who see your views as backward, uninformed, or just hateful, you know what it is like to suffer for Jesus’ sake.

If you have ever sat with anyone who is desperately sick or dying because you remember Scripture’s command to do so, and if in doing so you have felt a helplessness over your inability to make the sick and/or dying better, you know what it is like to suffer for Jesus’ name. There is rarely anything more difficult for those who care at all about humans than to watch them struggle and suffer. This is terribly hard work.

Likewise, if you have ever given your time and effort sacrificially to feed the hungry or serve at church or strive to end conditions that cause economic injustice or exploitation of the poor, you know what it means to suffer for Jesus, especially when you meet opposition in doing so. As with the sick and dying, if you care at all about people, it is hard to watch others live in poverty and want.

These examples do not constitute a comprehensive list of things that Christians do that can cause us to suffer, but I think they can help us reflect on what it means to suffer for Jesus’ sake. So why would anyone in their right mind willingly engage in suffering for Jesus’ name? Because when we do, we have the promise of being strengthened by Jesus himself through his Spirit living in us. For example, there was a time when I dreaded going to visit anyone in the hospital, let alone anyone who was dying. It made me terribly uncomfortable. I couldn’t help them or alleviate their condition. And what should I say to a dying person? I didn’t want to offend them! So I did what any self-respecting person would do. I stayed away. I ignored them, hoping that in doing so the problem would go away. Guess what. It didn’t and then I was left to deal with the guilt I felt for ignoring the suffering around me.

But then I learned a remarkable thing. It wasn’t about me. It was about embodying Jesus to these folks. When I gained enough knowledge and humility to make me realize that I didn’t have to fix the problem, that my presence was enough, in part because I was embodying Jesus to his broken and hurting people, the burden was off me. It freed me to serve them, just like my Lord did. Better yet, I realized what a privilege it was to do so! Now don’t misunderstand. I still do not like to see others suffer. That will never change. What changed in me was my frame of reference. This wasn’t about me but about allowing Jesus to use me to minister to others, and sometimes it was as simple (or complex) as being present for those in need. This is precisely what Paul was talking about in his second letter to the Corinthians.

Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take [the thorn in my flesh, whatever that was] away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12.8-10).

This is faith in action. This is what Scripture means by living a faithful life, by having a saving faith in Jesus.

When we suffer for Jesus’ sake and Name, we acknowledge our weakness and inability to fix ourselves and others. We tacitly acknowledge that we really aren’t the Lord of the universe and that there are precious few things over which we have any real control, especially outside of ourselves. Suffering for Jesus opens us up for him to work in us. We open ourselves up to his power, the power to love, serve, heal, and extend mercy and forgiveness to others, the power to take up our cross everyday, the power to be agents of his New Creation. When we acknowledge we are weak, then we are strong because we open ourselves up to Jesus’ presence and grace in our very being, and that is reason enough to rejoice in our sufferings for Jesus’ sake and Name.

Of course, this all starts with the season of Lent because for any of this to happen we have to first acknowledge our own brokenness and our need of Jesus’ power, strength, and presence in our lives. When we are weak we are strong, made strong because of Jesus’ power and grace, made strong to be his servants and to do the hard things we need to do so that we can follow and obey him, things like speaking the truth in love regardless of the wrath we will incur from others, things like loving others, forgiving our enemies, and offering mercy instead of insisting on justice for ourselves–all things that go against our human nature. When we open ourselves up to Jesus’ power, he enables us to do incredibly difficult things for him and in doing so, we are given the honor, privilege, and joy of being his Kingdom workers right here and now.

Can you say meaning and purpose of life?

Jesus calls us to take up our cross each day and follow him. To do that we must first deny ourselves and acknowledge that he is Lord and we are not. And when we follow Jesus we can be certain that there will be opposition, suffering, and hardship along the way because our Lord himself faced this when he lived on this earth and he warned those who would follow him that they would face the same things that he did. But here’s the funny thing. Instead of losing heart and hope, we will find cause to rejoice in our suffering for his Name because we have the assurance that he is living and working in us to help us be the very servants he calls us to be. And when we have that kind of living relationship with the Source and Author of all life, we can live in the assurance and joy that we are living life as it was meant for us to live, and that nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from God’s great love offered to us in Jesus.

Of course if we use the standards of this world, all of what I have just written is plain nuts. The world tells us just the opposite of what our Lord tells us. You don’t find yourself by losing yourself. You find yourself be self-aggregation and ruthlessness. You get what you can, when you can, and don’t worry about trampling on others along the way.

But if you really want to be countercultural and different, if you really want to make a difference in this life, the only way you can do that is by answering Jesus’ call to you to deny yourself, take up your cross each day, and follow him. And you will never be able to prove this until you actually jump in the water and begin to swim. You cannot be an armchair or Monday morning quarterback. You’ve got to get in the trenches Jesus calls you to get in and get muddied and bloodied up.

If you are looking for the ride of your life, if you are looking for real meaning and purpose, then take a chance and follow Jesus. Real life is waiting for you. What are you waiting for?