THE QUESTION WE LONG TO ANSWER More than fifty years ago, my mother fell seriously ill to polio. She was hospitalized for six months. For a time, her breathing failed. She spent weeks on a respirator, called back in the 1950’s, ?an iron lung.’ As she struggled for life, a nurse on her ward thought it her duty not only to care for my mother’s physical symptoms, but to address the deep spiritual reasons this terrible illness had struck my mother’s body. In a moment of absolute brutality, which my mother would remember for the rest of her life, this nurse said to her: “You must have done terrible things for God to allow this to happen to you.“
Of all the things that were ever said to my mother about her polio, this was, no doubt, the most painful—and the most unfair.
And yet that nurse wasn’t the only one who had such thoughts about suffering. Two thousand years ago, Jesus disciples asked their Teacher to clarify the reason why a man was born blind: “Who sinned,“ they asked “this man or his parents?“ The disciples were asking for an explanation of the mystery of suffering. Why do some people suffer so much? Why do some poor victims seem to move from one crisis to another? And why do some people glide through life on what appears to be quiet seas, the winds of success ever filling their sails?
CUTTING DEALS? Is it because it’s possible to cut a deal with a higher power? There are many people who think they can make a deal with God. If they deliver their souls to God through faith in Jesus, they will, in return, live a charmed life. God will give them everything they want. He will insure that their lives are free from pain and suffering, free from anguish and hurt.
My mother’s nurse in the hospital reasoned along those lines. If you are a Christian and live decently, your life should go well enough! Just do good things for God, and God will do good things for you! Treat God right, and he will keep the tough stuff at a distance. Mess up, and you’ll pay big time. This is a way of looking at life that has simplicity on its side! Trust Jesus, be good for God, and God will make sure you have enough of everything. Your bank accounts will flourish, your children will turn out to be scholarship winners, even your cholesterol count will stay in check.
Now, there is a kernel of truth in every misconceived idea. The fact is, the only way to live a life of deep blessing, is in relationship with God. The very first verse of the book of Psalms states, “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners.“ That first psalm goes on to say that a wise person ?is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.“ It is indisputable that a life lived in community with Jesus Christ is a life of real delight, prosperity, and joy. But is that a guarantee against hard times? That’s a different question.
SUFFERING: HERE, THERE, AND EVERYWHERE It might be worth asking how real life comes at us. There is an old Chinese story about a poor widow who went to seek the help of a wise man. This poor widow had lost her son, her only son and had turned into a bitter woman.
The wise man listened to her complaint, and then said, “I will give you back your son. All you need to do is bring me some mustard seed. But the mustard seed must be from a home that has never known trouble.“
The woman began to search eagerly. She went from home to home, looking for this mustard seed that must be so easily available. But her door—to—door search proved fruitless. No matter where she went, no matter who she visited—she found people whose lives had known pain, and hardship, heartache and suffering.
Finally she went back to the wise man empty—handed. “I have been selfish,“ she said. “Suffering is common to all.“
Well, yes it is. I served as a parish pastor for over 25 years. Whenever I began a new pastorate, I was immediately alerted by church leaders to special needs within the congregation. I’d be given a list of people who had recently gone through grief, those who were living in nursing homes, those who were struggling with chronic illness. It was always a small percentage of the congregation. Most folk in the church seemed to be doing well.
But as I got to know the people of my church better, I began to see their lives in a new way. I begin to learn about secret hardships that were mostly hidden to the neighbors. A struggle with depression that had been going on for years. A battle with sexual temptation that had decimated the joy of a marriage. Heartache over a grown child who walked away from the family decades ago and now perhaps, at most, called home once a year. I heard the personal stories of hurting people whose outward lives appeared unmarred by tragedy, and I too said—“Suffering is common to all.“
Maybe you have a story of suffering to tell as well. Perhaps you’ve been walking with Jesus a long time now. And you are disappointed your life hasn’t gone easier. You thought that if you were a Christian, God would protect you from pain and suffering. And it hasn’t happened. Or maybe you sense that you are being called to place your trust in Jesus Christ. You are so near to declaring your allegiance to Christ. But you hold back. You’ve noticed that Christians you know well still have problems. You hoped you could find a religion that would solve all your struggles with suffering and pain. Now you don’t think such a religion exists.
We need to take another look at what God is doing in times of suffering. Let’s answer that question, right after this song, which testifies to a faith in God that sees us through hard times. .
PAUL, THE INMATE We’ve been talking today about a lie many of us believe. The lie that “If I’m a Christian, God will protect me from all pain and suffering.“ Discarding that lie will be difficult. We’ll need to stop thinking of Christianity as an insurance policy against personal disaster. But only after we discard the lie, are we ready to live in God’s truth. Only then can we can begin to discover the way God really works——even through suffering.
The life of the Apostle Paul offers a case—study in suffering. Paul’s letter to the Philippians was written out of Paul’s own experience with trouble. Paul writes his letter from a prison cell. We aren’t sure whether he writes from Rome or from Ephesus, but we do know that Paul sends out his letter as a prisoner of such importance that the crack troops of the Roman Empire, the Praetorian Guard, have been mobilized to insure his security.
Now, why does Paul find himself in this mess? Because of some pretty steep charges. Paul is in prison under suspicion of treasonous activity. He is accused of worshipping another King than Caesar. Of that, I must admit, he is guilty. Paul has been entrusted by God with the news that the risen Christ is Savior and Lord of the cosmos. Paul’s gospel declares the dawning of the reign of Jesus Christ. As Christ’s ambassador to the Gentiles, Paul has been entrusted to proclaim that news to the Empire. What an irony! Paul, the man who has been entrusted with a message of spiritual liberty—sits behind bars.
Now, if Paul is like most of us, he would be asking himself hard questions as he sits in that jail cell. Paul would be saying, “What did I do to deserve this? I must have really dropped the ball somewhere for God to stick me in a place like this. Maybe I’m not a Christian at all. Maybe my calling wasn’t real. Or maybe Christianity just doesn’t work! Here I am, one of the top lieutenants in Christ’s Kingdom, sitting in a prison cell.“ Can you imagine all the questions Paul would ask if he believed that Christian discipleship protects against all trouble and suffering?
THE SUFFERING SAVIOR But Paul doesn’t ask those questions, because Paul doesn’t believe that lie. Instead, Paul looks at his life in the light of his relationship with Jesus Christ. And he wants his readers to look at their lives that way too. Listen to what Paul writes: “For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on 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.“
“It has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him . . . “ Belief in Jesus Christ. A life of suffering. Paul has the boldness to mention both in the same breath. Paul is convinced that faith in Christ does not create some force field that keeps at bay the canon blasts of life. How can it, when we take a close look at the life of Jesus himself?
Paul knows that the servant is not above his master. So start with Christ. Consider the shape of Christ’s life. Suffering ran like a silver thread through his life from beginning to end——starting with a manager in a stable in Bethlehem. In fact, the author of Hebrews tells us in the fifth chapter of his epistle that though Jesus was the Son of God, “he learned obedience from what he suffered.“ Jesus learned an obedience so deep that it allowed him to prepare to offer the ultimate sacrifice of redemption. And on a cross one Friday afternoon outside Jerusalem, Jesus plumbed the depth of that obedience. Jesus plumbed the depth of a suffering that was nothing less than the redemption price by which the world would be saved.
I do not know any other religion that offers this Good Friday answer to the problem of suffering. The gospel’s answer to suffering is unique. At its heart is a revelation of divine love that refuses to turn away from suffering and pain. At the heart of the gospel stands the Christ, the Word made flesh, who is so committed to defeating evil and wrestling this world back from the Devil that he will do what ever it takes——even drink the dregs from a cup of suffering—to redeem creation.
LIKE CHRIST, LIKE CHRISTIAN Suffering in the life of our Savior, then, is not meaningless. The suffering of Jesus is filled with purpose—it can even be called the way by which Christ redeems the world! And that now becomes the key to Paul’s approach to suffering in his own life—and in ours.
Oh, I know that Jesus’ suffering was unique. I know that Christ offered a ?once—for—all sacrifice’ to redeem God’s fallen creation. But the grace that redeems suffering didn’t stop with a cross on Calvary. The grace that used suffering to turn a fallen world right—side—up now grabs hold of us in our sufferings. In a mysterious way, God still uses suffering to put his grace on display and transform the world for his Kingdom.
And that helps us make sense of two kinds of suffering that enter our lives. I’ll call those two kinds of sufferings—?suffering from’ and ?suffering for.’
SUFFERING FROM . . . Let’s first of all talk about ?suffering from.“ Most of our talk about suffering centers here, we suffer FROM a bad back, from a weak heart, from arthritis. We suffer FROM people who misuse us and a boss that treats us like dirt.
“Suffering from.’ All of us know this kind of suffering in greater or lesser degree. “Suffering from’ is not the kind of suffering we go looking for. The Bible doesn’t ask us to go looking for bad health, or a boss who conducts job reviews as though he’s Attila the Hun. In fact, this suffering we try to lessen in our own life—and in the lives of others. That’s why we keep an eye on our health and contribute to the local food bank. That’s why we build houses for tsunami victims in Indonesia and feed orphans in Dafur. Because minimizing ?suffering from’ is a good thing.
And yet the world still has more than enough of this kind of suffering to go around. Such suffering seems meaningless. But when we endure suffering in community with Christ, we discover a mysterious wonder—filled grace.
Paul understood this dynamic. He suffered from what he called his ?thorn in the flesh.’ We aren’t sure what that thorn was. Most think it was some physical problem—perhaps epilepsy, maybe bad eyesight, possibly a speech impediment. Paul was convinced that this thorn was a drag on his ministry. Three times he asked God to take his thorn away. And this was God’s answer: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.“
The thorn stayed. And by the power of God’s grace, it took on a redemptive purpose in Paul’s life. That thorn punctured Paul’s pride and self—sufficiency. It made him lean more than ever on his Savior. In his human weakness, he discovered divine power. He discovered the paradox of Christian ministry—— the gospel of power is dispensed through fragile human vessels.
“Suffering from.“ There are those of us who are struggling with our own thorns in the flesh today. Those thorns dig deep. They tear at our hearts and souls. Knowing that God can use them does not make them less painful. But that knowledge does protect us from a spirit of hopelessness and despair. In our weakness, the power of God breaks forth. In our sufferings we are transformed more fully into the likeness of our Lord.
SUFFERING FOR . . . But there is a second kind of suffering in this world. It’s a suffering that doesn’t get as much attention, but to Paul it’s highly important. In fact, it’s the kind of suffering Paul especially targets in our text. He calls it, SUFFERING FOR . .. Paul says: “It is granted to you also to suffer for Christ. . .“ “To suffer for Christ . . .“
Now, how do you suffer for Christ? Well, you enter into Christ’s style of suffering. Jesus didn’t merely suffer FROM life’s hardships. He suffered FOR his people as he bore their grief and carried their sorrows. He suffered FOR the sake of ushering in the reign of God. His sufferings had redemptive power.
And now Christ’s disciples are invited to participate in suffering that also builds the Kingdom. They are invited to suffer for the sake of Christ and for the coming of his Kingdom. Through our sufferings for the cause of Christ, God’s grace makes its way in the world. The powers of darkness are in some small way undone. Good news is shared. The love of God put into action because followers of Christ are willing to suffer for the sake of their Lord and Savior.
THE PLAN So here’s God’s plan. If we want to live a life that really counts as Christ’s disciple, be willing to hurt for Christ’s sake. As the voice and hands and feet of Jesus, prepare yourself to be inconvenienced for the sake of blessing the lives of others.
You have taken a marriage vow? Then you committed yourself to suffering. “In sickness and in health, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, till death us do part.“ Everyone likes the ?for better, for richer’ part of that marriage vow. But that vow has another side to it. Stick with someone for a lifetime and you will experience sickness as well as health, tight budgets as well as fat paychecks. Why hang in there with your spouse when the going gets tough? Because you know what it means to be called to suffer with others for the sake of Christ.
You have kids? Get ready to suffer. And I’m not just talking about the kind of suffering that happens when your kids go down wrong roads—though that suffering has a terror all its own. But I’m thinking about the times you hurt because your child hurts. Your son or daughter comes home from school in tears because of the taunts of their classmates. Why hurt with your child? Because you know what it means to suffer with others for the sake of Christ.
Are you part of a community of Christians? Then get ready to suffer! Surrounding you are hurting people who need you. You’re tempted to ignore them. You can cut out fast and avoid involving yourself in the lives of others. But you don’t do that. And why? Because you know what it means to suffer with others for the sake of Christ.
Christians suffer with people in their own personal circles and beyond. They hurt with fellow believers in the Middle East where the price of discipleship can be high. They hurt with starving children in Darfur. They suffer when the rights of the poor are stepped on. And in their sufferings they do things that make a difference in the lives of those who hurt. And why do they open themselves to such suffering? Because they are followers of Christ.
At the beginning of this message, I talked about my mother, and a nurse who bumbled an opportunity to show grace and compassion. If you had asked my mother why God had allowed her body to be touched by disease, I know what she would have said. She would have said that God’s grace had transformed her disability. It had allowed her to experience God’s power in weakness. And it had prepared her to offer encouragement to others who were going through hurt and struggle. In her sufferings, she had been granted a comfort that comes in Jesus Christ, so that she might extend that same comfort to others.
Prayer
Our Father, We will always struggle with the mystery of suffering. We live with questions that still remain unanswered. But this we know. That in the midst of our sorrow, there is comfort. In the midst of our aloneness, there is your presence. In the midst of our sufferings, there comes a grace that redeems even our darkest nights. Amen
Robert Heerspink
Rev. Robert Heerspink is a native of west Michigan. He completed his undergraduate studies at Calvin College and holds the degrees of Master of Divinity and Master of Theology from Calvin Theological Seminary. He has also received a Doctor of Ministry degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Bob was ordained a minister of the Word in the Christian Reformed Church of North America in 1979, and has 26 years of parish experience, having served four churches throughout west Michigan. He was appointed the Director of The Back to God Hour in 2006. Bob has written several resources related to congregational stewardship, including the book, Becoming a Firstfruits Congregation. He is a regular contributor to TODAY, the monthly devotional of The Back to God Hour. Bob is married to Edith (Miedema) and they have three children. His hobbies include reading fictional and historical works, watersports, and occassional golfing.
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