The Bigger Picture

Alright, I'm back from vacation and ready to start blogging again.  Lots of response to the last post, which isn't surprising (because that was one of the chapters I had the most trouble with personally), but yeah that's what I hope for with this blog series especially - deeper discussion and clarification where it's needed.

This next post will get into the bigger picture behind suffering - okay, we know that suffering is a consequence of sin.  But how about those who have been redeemed by Jesus, who have been adopted into God's family?  If they have been freed from the slavery of sin and have been declared "not guilty" by the living God...then why on earth would they still be subjected to suffering?  Shouldn't God deliver His children from the horrible things that happen?  Here are some reasons why. 

- Suffering deepens faith and holiness: God disciplines those whom He loves, those who are His children. And so suffering is one of the ways to get us back on track, as a wakeup call if you will.  Yet His discipline is always with the intent of restoration and is out of His love - it is by no means God losing His temper and just smiting us to watch us suffer.  He takes no joy in our suffering.

Suffering also deepens faith by removing our dependence on earthly things for support and comfort.  These earthly things include any and everything that is not God Himself: health, wealth, family, friendships, romantic relationships, food, alcohol, job, etc.   

My mom had a very rough childhood growing up.  Without getting into specifics, and to put it very lightly, she did not have a very loving family, and she was severely unappreciated.  She worked in a factory since she was 12 to earn some money for the family.  One day, when she was 16, one of her friends invited her to church and told her about the Gospel.  My mom went to all the church meetings, small groups, fellowship activities, etc. just to escape from the crazy, hostile, non-Christian environment at home.  She loved to hear about the hope that only Jesus brings, and the new life that is available through him.  And as a result, she was saved.  With this experience in her life, she went on to raise me and my brother (being our spiritual inspiration), and just yesterday, helped my grandma confirm her salvation (this would be the mom who wasn't very loving to her when she was growing up) - praise God.  Had she not had this rough childhood, she wouldn't have been so open to church and the Gospel.  Many people value their loving families and the peace they have in their household - my mom didn't have this luxury.  Yet God used this hardship to draw her to Him.

There are most likely things that we rely on other than God.  Once those things are taken away from us, we realize that they are powerless, that they are not reliable.  And so we learn to lean on the only Rock who will keep us from falling.

- Suffering makes your cup increase: As we see in 2 Corinthians 9:6, not everyone will receive the same degree of glory and happiness in heaven - "Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully".  The thing is, everybody will be completely full and happy in the Lord in heaven.  But, some vessels will be larger than others, and so they will have more capacity for happiness and glory.  Suffering weans us off of the world and enables us to be filled with God more.  It is those who have learned to rely on fully on God who find the most delight in Him, the most satisfaction.  Would we really call out to the Lord and depend on Him if we didn't suffer?  I don't think so.

- Suffering is the price of making others bold: Sometimes it takes the suffering of the faithful in order to wake up apathetic Christians and to cause them to be bold and take risks for God. 

You may be familiar with the film The End of the Spear, based on a true story about a group of missionary men who were speared and killed by a violent group of natives in Ecuador they were trying to reach out to.  This incidence has inspired thousands and thousands of brothers and sisters to enter into the missions field (you'd think it'd do the opposite and scare people away).  But no, this story brings inspiration and is a reminder that we are here for a purpose, that our true citizenship is in heaven.  Though the suffering was horrible, God used it in ways we cannot even imagine.

- Suffering fills what is lacking in Christ's afflictions: when I first read that statement, I was like, whoa that sounds blasphemous...how can you say that Christ's afflictions are lacking??  They are by no means lacking in their atoning sufficiency, but they are lacking in the sense that they aren't known or felt by people who weren't at the cross (yes, it's in the Bible: Colossians 1:24).  And so when we suffer, God uses those situations to show others the suffering love of Christ in us.  In other words, it makes our witness real.  We are suffering alongside other people, and we have the hope of the world to share with them.

I've always struggled with starting and maintaining close friendships.  And though God provided relationships throughout my life, a lot of times it hurt in middle school and high school.  It meant spending a lot of Friday and/or Saturday nights by myself.  It meant organizing hangouts and working hard to seek out others, but rarely getting invited.  Yet Jesus knows what I went through because he went through loneliness on earth too.  And he is the friend of a wounded heart.  This period of time not only helped me to rely on God more, but also helped me to walk alongside others in similar situations.  In the past couple of weeks, I've talked to people who are going through similar things, and it's been a blessing to be able to identify with them and give them encouragement and to know exactly how to pray for them because I've been through it.  Despite all the hurt, praise God for what He has brought me through.

- Suffering enforces the missionary command to go: Prosperity and comfort often hinder God's mission.  In Stephen's days, persecution scattered the church and sent them to Judea, Samaria, and all the nations. 

Modern day example: Many Koreans fled their home country to the Soviet Union when Japan invaded in the 1930s. Stalin then scattered them, since he saw them as a security risk.  God used Korean Christians in Tashkent to reach the Uzbeks, a group of Muslims that violently resisted western missionaries.  These Muslims liked the Koreans' kindness, though.  Eventually, the Koreans became a large part of this Uzbek culture, and many Muslims were brought to Christ by these Koreans. 

Luke 21:12-13 - "But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness."

God uses persecution and suffering to further His kingdom.

- The supremacy of Christ is manifest in suffering: God's power is made perfect in our weakness (2 Cor. 12:9).  Ultimately, suffering displays the supremacy of Jesus' worth above all else.  Our joy flows from our hope in Christ; therefore, suffering with joy, not gratitude in wealth, is the way the worth of Jesus shines most brightly to this world. 

Next post: Suffering, sovereignty, and the work of missions.