Why Christians Suffer: PART 8

Beginning of Series

How desirable is ease, riches, popularity, etc?

Certain big name preachers suggest we should become rich and famous to make non-Christians envious and so win them to Christ. That’s about as far from being a slave as anyone can get. I do not want to spend long on this but this matter is highly pertinent to God’s view of suffering.

When a friend recently asked me about this evangelistic strategy, my first worry was how the Author of the Ten Commandments would view a deliberate attempt to entice people to break the tenth commandment: coveting. Dare any of us, in the name of the Holy Lord, join the Evil One in tempting someone? How, precisely, would our Judge feel, after filling his Word with such things as the following?

* “the deceitfulness of riches choke the word”

* “it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into God’s Kingdom”

* “You can’t serve both God and Mammon”

* “Woe to you who are rich!”

* “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some have been led astray from the faith in their greed, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows”

* “Those who are determined to be rich fall into a temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful lusts, such as drown men in ruin and destruction”

Matthew 13:22 What was sown among the thorns, this is he who hears the word, but the cares of this age and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.

Matthew 19:24 it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into God’s Kingdom.

Matthew 6:24 . . . You can’t serve both God and Mammon.

Luke 6:24 But woe to you who are rich! . . .

1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some have been led astray from the faith in their greed, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

1 Timothy 6:9 But those who are determined to be rich fall into a temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful lusts, such as drown men in ruin and destruction.

Other Scriptures

Acts 8:20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!

Ecclesiastes 5:10 He who loves silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he who loves abundance . . .

Hebrews 13:5 Be free from the love of money, content with such things as you have . . .

James 1:11 For the sun arises with the scorching wind, and withers the grass, and the flower in it falls, and the beauty of its appearance perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in his pursuits.

James 5:1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming on you.

Instead of pursuing this, however, I retorted, “In Jesus’ parable of the rich man and the man who begged at his gate (Luke 16:19-26), who was the hero?”

That got me thinking. Who won Jesus’ praise in the following Gospel stories?

* Jesus’ parable of the revered priest, the holy Levite and the despised person we call the good Samaritan (Luke 10:30).

* Simon the Pharisee and the sinful woman whose tears wet Jesus’ feet (Luke 7:37-48).

* The crazed man with the legion of demons or the locals who were so disturbed by his deliverance that they asked Jesus to leave (Mark 5:15-17).

* The parable of the guilt-ridden, despicable tax-collector and the clean-living Pharisee praying in the temple (Luke 18:10-14).

* The prosperous people and the impoverished widow putting money in the temple offering (Luke 21:1-4).

* Zacchaeus, the tree-climbing runt of a tax collector scorned by the crowd (Luke 19:2-10).

* The successful man in Jesus’ parable who had to build bigger barns to store all his wealth (Luke 12:16-12).

* Blind Bartimaeus in the midst of an embarrassed crowd, who tried to hush him up (Mark 10:46-52).

* The once-blind man whom the ‘righteous’ threw out of the synagogue (John 9:22-41).

On and on I could go, listing all the beggars, nobodies and social outcasts featured in the Gospels.

Don’t like obscurity? Want to make a name for yourself? Then Jesus isn’t for you. He was forever zeroing in on society’s rejects for special attention or praise. They were the ones who warmed his heart.

Consider the twelve Jesus singled out for special training. Even the disciples we know most about were lowly fishermen and a despised tax collector (Matthew 9:9). Who among that motley band could be considered successful, popular or respected? Celebrities, super-heroes or scholars, they were not. In fact, they sloshed around somewhere at the opposite end of the scale.

Educated? Sophisticated? You’re joking! It’s highly doubtful that any had money but even if they did, Jesus told them to give it away. They were hot-heads, forever saying or doing lame-brained things. You would think their sole purpose was to make Jesus look smart and patient – except that they were the ones to whom Jesus entrusted the gospel message and world evangelism.

Jesus could have chosen Nicodemus, the Jewish ruler who came to Jesus asking about being born again (John 3:1-10) and later stuck up for Jesus (John 7:50-52) and still later brought about seventy-five pounds of myrrh and aloes for Jesus’ burial (John 19:39). He could have chosen rich Joseph of Arimathea, the disciple who gave Jesus his tomb and tended to his body (Matthew 27:57-60). There must have been many other candidates more promising and respected than the twelve Jesus singled out. In fact, most of even the twelve barely rate a mention in the Bible. Most of them remain obscure to us, but not to heaven. How the world sees things is of no consequence. What matters is how our eternal Judge sees things. In fact, Jesus said, “Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you!” (Luke 6:26, KJV). Anyone disagreeing with his assessment will be proven wrong for all eternity.

Isaiah 41:10-11 Don’t you be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness. Behold, all those who are incensed against you will be disappointed and confounded. Those who strive with you will be like nothing, and shall perish.

Isaiah 50:8-9 He who justifies me is near. Who will bring charges against me? Let us stand up together. Who is my adversary? Let him come near to me. Behold, the Lord God will help me! Who is he who will condemn me? Behold, they will all grow old like a garment. The moths will eat them up.

Isaiah 51:7-8 Listen to me, you who know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law: Don’t fear the reproach of men, and don’t be dismayed at their insults. For the moth will eat them up like a garment, and the worm will eat them like wool; but my righteousness will be forever, and my salvation to all generations.

Isaiah 54:17 No weapon that is formed against you will prevail; and you will condemn every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the Lord’s servants, and their righteousness is of me,” says the Lord.

Romans 8:31, 33 What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? . . . Who could bring a charge against God’s chosen ones? . . .

Revelation 3:9 Behold, I give some of the synagogue of Satan, of those who say they are Jews, and they are not, but lie. Behold, I will make them to come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you.

Revelation 12:10 I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, the power, and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ has come; for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them before our God day and night.

Emphasizing the immense value of what is seen by God alone is, of course, fully consistent with Jesus’ teaching:

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18 Be careful that you don’t do your charitable giving before men, to be seen by them, or else you have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Therefore when you do merciful deeds, don’t sound a trumpet before yourself, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may get glory from men. Most certainly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you do merciful deeds, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand does, so that your merciful deeds may be in secret, then your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.When you pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Most certainly, I tell you, they have received their reward. But you, when you pray, enter into your inner room, and having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. . . .

Moreover when you fast, don’t be like the hypocrites, with sad faces. For they disfigure their faces, that they may be seen by men to be fasting. Most certainly I tell you, they have received their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face; so that you are not seen by men to be fasting, but by your Father who is in secret, and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.

For many more such Scriptures, see The Immense Value of Doing What Only God Sees below:

The Immense Value of Doing What Only God Sees

Matthew 22:16 . . . Teacher, we know that you are honest, and teach the way of God in truth, no matter whom you teach, for you aren’t partial to anyone.

Matthew 23:5-12 But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad, enlarge the fringes of their garments, and love the place of honor at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, the salutations in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi, Rabbi’ by men. But don’t you be called ‘Rabbi,’ for one is your teacher, the Christ, and all of you are brothers. Call no man on the earth your father, for one is your Father, he who is in heaven. Neither be called masters, for one is your master, the Christ. But he who is greatest among you will be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

Luke 8:17 For nothing is hidden, that will not be revealed; nor anything secret, that will not be known and come to light.

Luke 14:12-14  . . . When you make a dinner or a supper, don’t call your friends, nor your brothers, nor your kinsmen, nor rich neighbors, or perhaps they might also return the favor, and pay you back. But when you make a feast, ask the poor, the maimed, the lame, or the blind; and you will be blessed, because they don’t have the resources to repay you. For you will be repaid in the resurrection of the righteous.

Luke 16:15  . . . You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts. For that which is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.

Luke 20:46-47 Beware of the scribes, who like to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts; who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers: these will receive greater condemnation.

John 5:41, 44 I don’t receive glory from men. . . . How can you believe, who receive glory from one another, and you don’t seek the glory that comes from the only God?

John 7:18 He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory, but he who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.

John 12:43 for they loved men’s praise more than God’s praise.

Acts 5:29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.

Galatians 1:10 For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? For if I were still pleasing men, I wouldn’t be a servant of Christ.

Colossians 3:22 Servants, obey in all things those who are your masters according to the flesh, not just when they are looking, as men pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God.

1 Thessalonians 2:4-6  . . . we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, who tests our hearts. For neither were we at any time found using words of flattery . . . nor seeking glory from men (neither from you nor from others), when we might have claimed authority as apostles of Christ.

Hebrews 4:13 There is no creature that is hidden from his sight, but all things are naked and laid open before the eyes of him to whom we must give an account.

Revelation 2:23 . . . I am he who searches the minds and hearts. I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.

Proverbs 25:27 . . . nor is it honorable to seek one’s own honor.

If there are times when only God is aware of what you think or do, never forget there is no such thing as ‘only’ God. Place God on one side of the scale of importance and put on the other side the entire universe, along with every living being, and the scale would not budge. Relative to him, everything else weighs less than a speck of dust.

Isaiah 40:15, 17, 22 Behold, the nations are like a drop in a bucket, and are regarded as a speck of dust on a balance. . . . All the nations are like nothing before him. They are regarded by him as less than nothing, and vanity. . . . It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers

1 Kings 8:27 . . . Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens can’t contain you . . .

Job 4:18-19 Behold, he puts no trust in his servants. He charges his angels with error. How much more, those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed before the moth!

Job 25:5-6 Behold, even the moon has no brightness, and the stars are not pure in his sight; How much less man, who is a worm, the son of man, who is a worm!”

Psalm 2:2, 4 The kings of the earth take a stand, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his Anointed . . . He who sits in the heavens will laugh. The Lord will have them in derision.

Psalm 39:4-7 Lord, show me my end, what is the measure of my days. Let me know how frail I am. Behold, you have made my days hand widths. My lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely every man stands as a breath. . . . every man walks like a shadow. Surely they busy themselves in vain. He heaps up, and doesn’t know who shall gather. Now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you.

Psalm 62:8-9 Trust in him at all times, you people. Pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge for us. Selah. Surely men of low degree are just a breath, and men of high degree are a lie. In the balances they will go up. They are together lighter than a breath.

Psalm 102:25-27 Of old, you laid the foundation of the earth. The heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will endure. Yes, all of them will wear out like a garment. You will change them like a cloak, and they will be changed. But you are the same. Your years will have no end.

Psalm 118:9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord, than to put confidence in princes.

Isaiah 40:8 The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God stands forever.

Isaiah 44:6 . . . The Lord of Armies, says: “I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no God.

Daniel 4:35 All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; and he does according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and no one can stay his hand, or ask him, What are you doing?

Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Ephesians 1:22 He [God] put all things in subjection under his [Christ’s] feet . . .

Colossians 1:17 He is before all things, and in him all things are held together.

 We live in a world that ignores God. It is therefore to be expected that it would measure people’s achievement not by how God sees things but by their fleeting fame and/or impact on this world. The sad thing, however, is how swayed many Christians are by such worldly thinking.

You might recall Naaman, the military commander struck with leprosy who would eagerly have done anything great for God, but crept precariously close to missing his miracle by dismissing as too humdrum what God actually asked of him (2 Kings 5:9-14). May we muster the humility to end up choosing as wisely as him. Often, the way we handle what seems insignificant is a better test of devotion than the spectacular.

Remember the origin of the saying that obedience is better than sacrifice. The Lord told Saul to destroy all the enemy’s captured livestock. That seemed a waste. Wouldn’t it be better to turn this into a spectacular sacrifice – an enormous thank-offering to the Almighty? The king tried telling himself that this would be nobler. So important is simply obeying God, however, that Saul lost his dynasty over choosing an impressive display of devotion and worship over what we might dismiss as a useless waste (1 Samuel 15:1-23).

Think of Sarah and Abraham suffering all the shame and emptiness of childlessness, year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after . . . I’ll stop. I’m too embarrassed to waste a millisecond of your life for every year that they suffered this. For them, every interminable moment became as much a testimony to the power of faith as every moment spent proudly displaying their baby. Who would be impressed by the greatness of the miracle if Isaac had been born when they were in their twenties? How could that inspire others to hold on in faith year after year?

Every torturous prolonging of their agony ended up bringing more glory to God (and ultimately to themselves) as they faithfully endured it, and every slip-up on the way – and there were several – is instructive to us.

Take heart from the man exalted as Scripture’s prime example of faith (Romans 4; Galatians 3:6-9; Hebrew 11:8-19; James 2:21-23). In an early chapter of Genesis, God tells Abraham on two separate occasions that he will give him the land and descendants (Genesis 12:2,7). Just four verses later we find Abraham humiliating Sarah, denying that she is his wife. In cowardly deceit, he stands dumbly by as Pharaoh marries Sarah and takes her into his harem (Genesis 12:10-16).

Next chapter, God yet again details the promise of land and descendants (Genesis 13:14-17). Nevertheless, two chapters on, we find Abraham expecting to die childless. For a fourth time God insists he will give Abraham descendants. At last the old fossil believes. The Lord, thrilled with Abraham’s refound faith, repeats his vow to give him the land. In disbelief, Abraham asks for a sign (Genesis 15:2-8).

With divine patience God dramatically shows the mighty man of faith not only his future descendants, but what will happen to them.

In the next chapter we find our faith model throwing away any hope of a miracle from God. He resorts to dubious natural means to forcibly accomplish what God seems unwilling to do. He bypasses his wife and turns to her maid for a baby (Genesis 16:1-3).

Years later, the Lord yet again reaffirms his promise to Abraham and declares that Sarah would conceive. Abraham laughs. He is sure his wife has more potential as an Egyptian mummy than as a Hebrew one. ‘She’s too old. Just bless Ishmael,’ is the crux of his reply (Genesis 17:17-18). Yet the Lord persists. One more time our hero gropes for that slippery fish called faith. Before long, he is again passing off Sarah as his sister, showing more faith in his powers of deception than in God’s integrity. This time it is King Abimelech who almost has a go at impregnating Sarah (Genesis 20:2-3). Just weeks later, (assuming Genesis 18:10 to 21:2 are in chronological order) she conceived Abraham’s baby.

We can see how God could treasure suffering for Christ as an exquisite act of love but what Scripture says about slaves enduring their indignity opens for everyone enormous other opportunities to delight our Lord – opportunities many of us might never have seen.

The mysteries of suffering might be profound but they are strewn with beauty because the stupendously compassionate Lord, whilst most definitely not the cause of suffering, is himself an active participant. We never suffer alone. The lover of our souls suffers with us.

Human feelings are such poor indicators of spiritual truth that it can feel as if God is aloof, even though nothing could be further from reality. One of the practical implications of the infinity of God’s love and knowledge is that he is highly sensitized to everything about you.

Christian, the Almighty is so intimately connected to you that Scripture emphasizes over and over that he is in you and you are in him.

Your Astonishing Union with God

You in the Godhead

John 17:21  . . . May they also be in us . . .

Acts 17:28 For in him we live and move and have our being. . . .

Romans 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus

Romans 16:7  . . . they were in Christ before I was.

1 Corinthians 1:30  . . . you are in Christ Jesus . . .

2 Corinthians 2:17  . . . in Christ we speak before God . . .

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation . . .

Ephesians 1:1 7 . . . the faithful in Christ Jesus:

Ephesians 2:6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus (Emphasis mine.)

Colossians 1:28  . . . so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.

Colossians 2:10 you have been given fullness in Christ . . .

Colossians 3:3  . . . your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

1 Thessalonians 4:16  . . . the dead in Christ will rise first.

2 Timothy 3:12  . . . to live a godly life in Christ Jesus . . .

1 Peter 5:14  . . . Peace to all of you who are in Christ.

1 John 2:24  . . . you also will remain in the Son and in the Father.

1 John 2:27  . . . remain in him.

Psalm 90:1  . . . Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.

The Godhead in You

John 14:17 the Spirit . . . will be in you.

John 14:23  . . . My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

John 17:23 I in them . . .

John 17:26  . . . that I myself may be in them.

Romans 8:9-11  . . . if the Spirit of God lives in you. . . . But if Christ is in you . . . And if the Spirit . . . is living in you, he . . . through his Spirit, who lives in you.

1 Corinthians 3:16 Don’t you know . . . that God’s Spirit lives in you?

1 Corinthians 6:19  . . . the Holy Spirit, who is in you . . .

2 Corinthians 6:16  . . . For we are the temple of the living God. . . .

Ephesians 3:17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

Colossians 1:27  . . . Christ in you, the hope of glory.

1 John 3:24  . . . he lives in us . . .

1 John 4:4  . . . the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

Ezekiel 36:27 And I will put my Spirit in you . . . (Expression repeated in Ezekiel 37:14.)

In God and He in You

Of course, it is no slip that God’s Word says both that we are in God and that God is in us. In fact, it is so deliberate that there are times when the Bible puts both in the same verse, just as Jesus said in his prayer about his relationship with the Father (“. . . you are in me and I am in you. . . .” – John 17:21).

John 6:56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.

John 15:4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you.

1 John 3:24 Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. . . .

1 John 4:13  . . . we live in him and he in us . . .

1 John 4:16  . . . lives in God, and God in him.

Isaiah 59:21  . . . My Spirit, who is on you, and my words that I have put in your mouth . . .

Judges 6:34 is particularly interesting. It is so ambiguous it allows both interpretations. Some translations speak of the Spirit of the Lord clothing Gideon with himself (eg The Amplified Bible) whereas others translate it as the Spirit of the Lord clothing himself with Gideon (eg English Standard Version).

Astonishing Intimacy

Given the depth of our merger with the divine, it comes as no surprise that there is also reference to us being one with the Godhead:

1 Corinthians 6:17 But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.

Ephesians 5:31-32 “ . . . and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery – but I am talking about Christ and the church.

Let’s unpack this a little. Scripture not only compares but contrasts the closest of human relationships with our union with God:

1 Corinthians 6:16-17 For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit. (Emphasis mine.)

The ultimate in being one flesh is conjoined (‘Siamese’) twins. Their lives, experiences and destinies are utterly intertwined. Even so, they remain two separate entities. A lifetime of experiences makes them superb at guessing each other’s thoughts but it is still a guess. As much as I would love to, I cannot get inside my wife’s mind.

It is impossible for two humans to have one spirit. Only if this could happen would they truly be one. Here’s why:

1 Corinthians 2:11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? . . .

The passage goes on to say, not merely that you and Christ can read each other’s minds, but you “have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16).

This astonishing oneness is a miraculous restoration of the idyllic relationship with the awesomely holy Lord as it was before humanity’s sin ruined everything. Christ and you are not meant to be two separate identities, each striving for recognition, but merged in a mystical union; no clash of wills, just exquisite oneness.

This is a restoration of what humanity lost when Adam and Eve sinned. From that moment, sin entered the human gene pool, giving us not only a genetic predisposition to sin and a lost relationship with God, but a distorted perception of God.

For this to happen we must die to our own will. That is why Jesus kept emphasizing denying ourselves and “losing” our life to find it. It is why Paul kept saying similar things, such as “For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3).

You and he are one; more intimately intertwined than co-joined twins. He has invested more in you and is more alert to everything affecting you than is humanly possible. He is more aware than even you are of your every thought and feeling, your hopes, your dreams, your fears, your astonishing potential, your past, your present, your future.

And your pain cuts him like a knife.

The Story So Far

Having barely begun this series of webpages, we have so many wondrous things yet to discover. Nevertheless, we have already progressed by glimpsing two very different types of suffering spotlighted in Scripture: persecution and slavery. We have seen that not only can suffering for Christ be heroic and bring both God and us eternal glory, as it did for Christ, so can any suffering achieve this, if endured – indeed endowed – with the right attitude, the most important of which are love and faith (Galatians 5:6; Ephesians 1:15; 1 Thessalonians 1:3, 6; 2 Thessalonians 1:3; 2 Timothy 1:13; Philemon 1:5), which lead to the final part of the glorious triplet (1 Corinthians 13:13; Colossians 1:5; 1 Thessalonians 5:8): the sure hope of eternal reward.

Continued: Part 9