Is There Purpose to Suffering in the Christian Life? > 목회자칼럼

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No one wants to face trials and experience suffering. 
Most of us spend a great deal of time trying to avoid suffering. 
We would rather ignore the many times Jesus or the apostles 
tell us we will suffer as Christians.
This impulse to avoid pain and suffering is normal and logical for human beings. 
The gospel, however, often turns what we view as normal 
and logical directly on its head.
In the article “Does Christianity Make Life Harder” 
on Pastor John Piper’s Desiring God website, 
author Tony Reinke discusses the role suffering plays in the Christian life 
and how our union with Christ will likely bring greater suffering, 
but also greater glory.
Reinke poses two questions:
Does being united to Christ give meaning to the suffering we 
experience in this life?
Does being united with Christ mean that we will 
experience more suffering?
Essentially, Reinke has found the answers to both questions to be yes.
Suffering in the Christian life is not random or arbitrary, but our 
suffering is given greater meaning when we remember that Jesus also suffered.
Renike quotes author Rankin Wilbourne who says that 
“We are united to the One whose whole life was perpetual crucifixion.”
Jesus suffered on the cross for our sins, but He also felt the burden 
of those sins every day he walked the earth. 
And now in heaven He is a High Priest who can relate to our suffering.
“This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced 
all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15).
Jesus told His followers that the servant is not greater than the master 
and “If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also” 
(John 15:20) Logically, then, we can expect to face trials as Jesus did. 
And yet, we know that Jesus endured all the trials He faced, 
looking forward to a time when all would be made right--”
who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross” 
(Hebrews 12:2) This also gives meaning to the sufferings we face. 
They remind us that a better day is coming when Christ will restore 
all things and make all things new.
But what about the second question?
Not only does living the Christian life mean that the suffering 
we experience--whether physical pain, loss of a loved one, 
a family tragedy--has meaning and is not arbitrary, but it also means that, 
as Christians, we will experience specific suffering as Christ-followers.
Many Christians around the world experience this as overt persecution 
and sometimes even martyrdom That is not the reality for most of us 
in the Western world, but we also will experience trials because of our faith.
There is always a cost to taking up your cross. 
Perhaps it is a strained relationship with a family member due to your faith, 
or perhaps it is the hard decision of going against the rest of the crowd at school 
or work or with your friends.
Reinke writes that many Christians read Paul’s statement in 2 Corinthians 12 
“When I am weak, then I am strong” to mean that we are weak in ourselves, 
but strong in Christ. That is only partly of what the passage means, however, 
says Reinke.   
“I think people read this passage as though Paul is saying that 
we are weak in ourselves but strong in Christ. But he’s saying that our weakness is 
also a function of our union with Christ, because we share 
in his distinctive sufferings, not on the level of their atoning power, but in 
terms of the model of their fruit-bearing character.”
This tells us as Christians that our suffering is not only inevitable, 
but that it has meaning, and specifically, God is using these trials to grow 
our faith and allow us to bear fruit--something we cannot do apart from 
Christ (John 15:5).
A devotional on Crosswalk.com about bearing spiritual fruit puts it this way:
“The simple truth is that there is not much use in a fruit tree that doesn’t 
grow fruit, just like there isn’t much use in a Christian that isn’t living out 
Christ’s teachings. God made us, the Church, to be people of growth 
and action. It is his desire that we constantly seek to mature in our faith.”
Although it may seem contrary to us, trials and suffering are often 
what God uses to make us grow more like Christ. 
That is the beauty of the gospel--it is often contrary to the world’s way of thinking, 
and yet so much richer and deeper.
 
Will you be open today to how Christ is using pain and suffering in 
your life to draw you to Him?