When I was in eighth grade I took a trip to Canada with my mom, my friend (who was a year older than me) and her mom, and a third girl (2 years older than me), and our Sunday school teacher (who was single and had no children of her own). We went shopping one day at a discount store and all three of us girls were looking at bathing suits (since the hotel had a pool and we failed to bring our suits). One of the girls picked out a pretty bikini, showed her mom, and both decided on that suit. The other girl just picked one out (and since her mom wasn’t there, she picked it). I found a really cool bikini and showed it to my mom… she said NO WAY. I was already feeling somewhat third-wheelish in the friend department, so when my mom made it even more obvious that I wasn’t going to fit in, I had a tantrum (in the middle of the store).
I’m sure I could have handled it better, but didn’t my mom understand that I was going through a traumatic experience? I could have crawled into a hole and died at that point… this was no vacation. And I was going to have to suffer through it.
I look back on that experience and just say, “what an entitled little brat I was!” Just because other people have things that I want too doesn’t mean I should become a capitalist snot and get it too. Don’t we all accumulate “the best” items to keep up with the Jones’s? But I digress…
The point is, in America we have no idea what trials and suffering are. Let’s take a look at Paul’s life. Stoned, imprisoned, flogged, martyred (take a look at 2 Corinthians 11:23-29). Not words we would typically use to describe the way we’ve suffered in our lives, but that’s Paul, a disciple of Jesus. All you Bible scholars might want to say, “but Paul wasn’t one of the twelve”. You’re right, but he was nonetheless enlisted for battle in God’s army… he was a disciple. Just as we, who have put our faith and trust in Jesus, are also called disciples. We as disciples are also called to “make disciples,” just as Paul did with the early church. And what did he get for it here on earth? Well, you already read that above. But man, imagine the treasure in heaven he has!
In 1 Peter 4:1, the Bible says, “Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin.” Those are strong words, but if we are truly willing to live the life of a disciple we should expect hardship and suffering, to the point that Jesus did. Are we ready for that?
Furthermore, later in the same chapter it says, “If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.” It goes on to say that if you suffer because of the poor choices you make (murderer, criminal, meddler… but go even further… gossipper, poor choices with money, lier, cheater, etc) you did it to yourself and isn’t considered honorable, or of God. But the next verse says, “However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.” It doesn’t say if you suffer because you
call yourself a Christian, but it implies suffering as a result of
being a Christian.
For the body of believers who consider their suffering as something that God has given them to work through, please be aware of the cause of your suffering or hardship. 1 Peter 4:17 reads, “For it is time for judgement to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?”
So when I think about the “trials” of my last 26 years, I do not consider them as suffering. My feelings are validated, as God cares about all of our feelings, but most of the time these trials were in direct correlation with my own selfishness, or poor decisions, not decisions based on my
being,
or actions as a Christian. Even when my decisions are pure, am I really putting myself on the line for what I believe on a daily basis?
I think that’s a good gauge as to whether our lives are fully reflecting that God is top priority in our lives. I recently had a conversaton with a friend. I had made an original statement that seemed offensive. That statement was that all Christians must do some sort of cross-cultural missions, that it doesn’t count if you stay inside the US. Well, recently I amended that statement. I said that if you call your job, or lifestyle as it is, your mission, you better be talking about Jesus to all your coworkers, friends, and family regardless of the legality, or fear that comes with it, and you better be walking down the street asking God who he wants you to approach to speak of God’s love for them today. Then we may start to understand suffering for our faith, maybe on a lesser scale than Paul. But if none of that is a possibility, or it’s too scary… then, yes, every Christian should do cross-cultural missions and put yourself out there to possibly experience God as top priority for at least a week.
I’ve worn a bikini since that experience, but now that we’re heading abroad it’s only one-pieces for a year. Some of you may call that suffering :). But personal comfort must be something we’re willing to give up, if we intend to live as Paul, and even more, as Jesus! Even more, we need to be willing to be given trials and hardships, including death, for the sake of Christ.
