No one wants to do it
One word could be used to describe all of human history: suffering. Everyone who has ever lived has had to suffer. No one asked for it, no one wants it and most have wondered why it has to be this way. No one has ever figured it out because there are no easy answers. But we see a clue in Philippians 3:10-11 (NIV): ‘I want to know Christ-yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.’
Sharing in the sufferings of Christ doesn’t mean only imagining what he endured on his journey to the cross and all that entailed. It doesn’t just mean watching movies depicting the beatings, the crown of thorns and the nails. And it’s even more than going through the worst trials that come our way.
When Jesus saw the pain of the people who came to him for healing, he was moved with compassion. He cried when Lazarus died. He ached to embrace (MSG) the children of Jerusalem the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. Jesus suffered for us long before he died – and that’s a significant way we share with him, by suffering with others.
When we suffer for and with each other, we come as close as we can to suffering for others the way Jesus suffered for us. And in so doing, we become like him in his death and will, one way or the other, as Paul said, experience the resurrection from the dead (Philippians 3:11, NLT).
Study by Tammy Tkach
First published on 8 August 2023, at www.gemsofgodsgrace.wordpress.com
Tammy Tkach is the Assistant Pastor of the Eugene, Oregon, USA congregation. She is a speaker and writer, and publishes a blog at www.gemsofgodsgrace.wordpress.com
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