Scripture
16For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. 17And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. 18Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. Romans 8:16-18
Observation
I’ve got Scripture whiplash this morning. Romans 8 is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible as it powerfully describes the freedom of living life in The Holy Spirit as opposed to the back and forth struggle of life in the flesh described in Romans 7. When Paul writes of how we are no longer slaves to fear but sons and daughters invited to a close relationship with Abba Father my heart is filled with joy. Then, just as I’m feeling warm like a kid in His fathers arms as soft worship music plays Paul shocks me with a record scratching moment when he writes, “But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.” Wait! What? Where did that come from? I didn’t see it coming. If I’m honest, I think I have skipped right over that verse and moved on to Paul’s description of our future glory in Christ. Where did it come from? It came from Jesus who modeled the very intimate relationship between Father and Son that Paul was now revealing we can have. Did Jesus suffer? Of course. For all mankind. Did His suffering mean that the Father did not love Him? Of course not. To the New Testament believer suffering was always a part of the faith package.
Application
Recently I was at a Francis Chan conference and they shared their church values one of which I’ve never heard from any other church: “Suffering Sojourners”. They pointed out that Covid taught us we as Christians aren’t ready to suffer. So many Christians dropped out and haven’t come back. Suffering is a part of the journey. Our God died! No other religion has this. In death is where we find resurrection power. In the 21st Century Church there’s a gaping hole in our Gospel that has left many disillusioned in their faith. We have presented a message of blessing that excludes the suffering. We have presented a loving Father God but have made him more like Santa Clause than Almighty God. We have sanitized and anesthetized The Gospel to the point that when saints inevitably encounter suffering in this life they feel Father God must no longer love them because they were never told. Paul makes it clear in Philippians 3:10 that to truly, intimately know God we can’t have one without the other, blessing and suffering go hand in hand, “I want to know Christ--yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,” I wonder how many would respond to altar calls to follow Christ if we let people know up front that this road is not for the faint of heart? The road of blessing and the road of suffering are the same road but the joy in the journey is that we get to walk it with Jesus. He’s been down this road and knows how to traverse its many challenges. I love my boys and I love enjoying the fun adventures we have together. The truth is that they really know how much I love when they are facing the trials and hardships of life and we walk it out together.
Prayer
I don’t want to just know about You, I want to know You! Forgive me for avoiding suffering. Forgive me for preaching a Gospel that doesn’t paint the full picture. I’m so thankful for the Father’s love that walks me through the highs and lows of life. I’m not going run from suffering I’m going to run to You and take this road together.
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