I’ve known a few people, and most likely you have too, who seem to enjoy suffering. They look at whatever life hands them in the most negative way they can, as if to squeeze the greatest possible amount of misery out of every event.
Most of aren’t like that, however. Most of us want to get the greatest possible enjoyment out of life. Suffering is something to avoid, and when it can’t be avoided, we grit our teeth and try to get through it as quickly as we can. Suffering is BAD!
I, for one, tend to look at suffering that way. But then I find myself stumbling over passages of Scripture like:
The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name (Acts 5:41).
and:
Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope (Roman 5:3-4).
and even:
For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have (Philippians 1:29-30).
So the apostles all seemed to believe that suffering was a good thing. Or, at least some suffering was. What’s up with that?
When I dig more deeply into what the New Testament says about suffering I find this passage, which seems even more alarming that the others we’ve looked at so far:
Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church (Colossians 1:24).
What does Paul mean about his own sufferings filling up “what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions?” On first reading, it sounds like Paul is saying that Christ’s sacrifice wasn’t enough, so he has to add something to it. But there’s an obvious problem with that interpretation, which is that it contradicts basically the entire rest of the New Testament. So we can immediately rule that out. But if that’s not what Paul means, what exactly is he saying here?
Well, in the very next verse he writes:
I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness (Colossians 1:25).
So he’s talking about the suffering he undergoes as he serves the church by presenting the word of God. That clears things up a bit.
In his own flesh, Jesus made atonement for the sins of the world through his death on the cross. But it’s by means of the church, which is also called Jesus’ body in this passage, that the good news of forgiveness and reconciliation with God is spread throughout the world. So “what is still lacking” in Christ’s suffering refers to the hardships involved in carrying the gospel to those who don’t yet believe.
In this light, then, it’s possible to see why Paul and the other apostles thought it was an honor to suffer. Their suffering, the hardship they endured, was exactly what was needed to spread the message of salvation and advance the kingdom of God.
This all seems pretty basic, but when I think back over my four decades as a believer in Jesus, I don’t recall hearing very much about this perspective. I have heard sermons, quite a few of them in fact, about enduring suffering. And I’ve read many articles and books, and both received and given encouragement related to various kinds of hardships, but the focus in all those cases has almost always been on having faith to believe that what we suffer is good for us. Now, that is true. It’s affirmed many times in Scripture that God uses our suffering for out benefit (Romans 5:3-5 being just one example out of many). But it’s not the whole story, and I think we’re missing out if we only look at how we ourselves are affected.
Looking again to Scripture, Paul wrote from prison:
Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear (Philippians 1:12-14).
The attitude he conveys here is that it is a good thing that he is imprisoned. He mentions chains, and my understanding is that Roman prisoners wore chains even if they were not confined to a cell. That would have made it hard for him to do even basic tasks, and it meant that everybody who saw him would know he was in trouble.
But Paul made sure that everyone around him knew not just that he was a prisoner, but also why. His chains testified that Christ was worth suffering for. And it wasn’t just a testimony to non-believers; rather than being intimidated into silence, other Christians around him actually became bolder when they saw his example. And Paul goes further:
It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice (Philippians 1:15-18a).
Ironically, the people who were trying to create trouble for Paul were actually giving him even more of an opportunity to demonstrate his confidence in Jesus. The more trouble he was given, while he continued to remain faithful, the more everyone around him could see that it’s worth facing any amount of trouble for the sake of Jesus and his kingdom.
Further, if anybody else knew that some people were preaching the gospel cynically, in order to hurt Paul – and if he knew it’s likely that others did as well – then his response modeled for them the love of Jesus. Rather than resenting his enemies, he rejoiced that their actions resulted in greater glory for Christ.
It’s in this context that Paul writes in Philippians 1:29, “For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him.”
Enduring persecution is a powerful witness. It tells everyone who sees it that what we believe is worth suffering for. We don’t act like the world acts, and we don’t have the world’s attitude. We don’t claim victim status to try and assert our moral superiority (which it, in fact, would not do) because we are not victims, even when we suffer persecution. Just the opposite; we are “more than conquerors” (Romans 8:35-37). Rather than complaining or arguing, we rejoice. And because we do, we will “shine like stars in the universe” (Philippians 2:15).
I’ve never lived in a place where there’s been any real possibility of being arrested, or of having a mob burn down my house for attending church or sharing my faith, but there are places where those things do happen. I have friends who have just returned from serving for several years as missionaries in that kind of a place. And although I pray that persecution of that sort never comes to the United States, I recognize that someday it might. And as I pray, both for my country and for the safety of believers elsewhere, I’m forced to deal with the realization that, in God’s view, persecution is not necessarily a bad thing.
And even though we in the U. S. don’t generally face imprisonment for being faithful to Christ, this passage does have something to say to us as well. The lifestyle Paul models here is not to seek trouble, but not to run from it either. Far too many Christians in the western world today do one or the other; either they boldly denounce sin in the most offensive way possible, or they shrink from speaking about Jesus at all. Neither of these is the right path.
The first way forgets that our conversation is to be “seasoned with salt” (Colossians 4:6). That is, we should be enjoyable to talk to. If what we have to say might be offensive, we need to say it in the least offensive way possible, so that those who hear might be persuaded and not driven away. The fact that some people around us live as enemies of God is a matter for tears, not self-righteousness (Philippians 3:18). The second forgets that we are Christ’s agents (2 Corinthians 5:20), sent by God for a purpose. And that purpose is not to hide our light and pretend to be just like everybody else (Matthew 5:15-16).
The lens through which Paul looked at the world was the gospel – which includes, in his thinking, not just bringing people to faith in Christ but also building them up into maturity. His focus was on how the things happening to him and around him affected the spread of the message of Christ.
I’ve written a lot in this article so far about suffering for our faith, but most of the suffering believers in this country face is not persecution. Just like everyone else, followers of Jesus face sickness, and accidents, and financial struggles, and all the other problems that come from living in a world that has not yet been made perfect. And the attitude with which we face this kind of suffering is a testimony as well, as we look beyond our circumstances to rejoice in the goodness of God.
Now, this all sounds great written out here. But it’s not so easy to do when the suffering becomes personal. I’ve written elsewhere about living through a period in which I simply could not see any of God’s goodness in my life, and how that affected me. An awful lot of who I am today as a person, and as a follower of Jesus comes out of that time. From my perspective now, more than twenty years later, I’m thankful for what God put me through during those years, but I don’t want to do it again. I don’t like to suffer.
Nevertheless, I know that I can do it again, and that’s a key lesson from my experience. God was with me when I was experiencing things I didn’t want to experience. I see now how God used that time to make me stronger, but more importantly, I can see also now how others have benefited from what I experienced, both at that time and now. Because of how God changed me during those years, I can now bless others in ways that I could not before, and that is a reason to rejoice.
I’m not yet mature enough to consider it pure joy to face trials and suffering (James 1:2). But I can understand why James would say that. Why all throughout the New Testament, suffering is not just something to endure, but a way to testify about the surpassing value of knowing Christ. And that’s important because, while I can recognize that God uses everything I go though for my benefit, I can’t really bring myself to rejoice over it. But I can rejoice when I know that God uses what I go through to benefit someone else. I can be a blessing. And that’s something to praise God about.