The Sufferings of Christ and Our Response

"Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God." I Peter 4:1-2 I mentioned in an earlier blog about how my physical pain has made me so much more aware of the true physical pain that Jesus endured to save us from our sins. I also mentioned that it has made me sorrowful over my sins in a way that I've never experienced before. I think I've had sorrow over my sin more along the lines of the pain it has caused me or others. I'm not sure how often I've really considered the pain that it caused to Jesus. Sometimes I think that when we hear the Bible stories over and over from childhood, they tend to become commonplace and we forget the magnitude of them. We say, "Jesus died on the cross for our sins," but do we really think about what He suffered? Matthew Chapter 26 records the account of Jesus' arrest. First, He was betrayed by one of His disciples for 30 pieces of silver. Then the rest of His disciples deserted Him and fled. Jesus was then taken before the Sanhedrin and accused of blasphemy. Those surrounding Him struck Him with their fists and spat in His face. Imagine that for a moment, the Almighty God of the Universe being struck by human fists and the One worthy of all reverence being spat upon. After this is the account of Peter denying Jesus just as Jesus had told him he would. Jesus was then brought before the governor who found no basis for charges against Him but gave in to the people who called for His crucifixion. Once again, Jesus was spat upon and mocked and a crown of thorns was placed on His head. It's interesting to remember that thorns were part of the curse for the sins of Adam and Eve in the garden, a correlation I believe I learned from a Beth Moore Bible study. John chapter 19 records that Jesus was scourged. The Roman scourge was an instrument of torture often used before crucifixion. It was a whip with several leather straps with bits of bone and other objects attached to them. It would not only bruise the flesh but tear it as well, causing deep wounds into the muscle and much bleeding. After the scourging, it is recorded that Jesus was forced to carry His cross for some time toward the place of crucifixion. At some point, the soldiers compelled Simon of Cyrene to carry the cross for Jesus. Then Jesus was nailed to the cross by His hands and feet. From what I've heard in the past, Jesus would have had to push Himself up on His nail-pierced feet just to take a breath, not to mention that His torn back was against the cross. Even then, people were hurling insults at Him. I believe, though, that the most painful part of all of this was when He cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Obviously God did not forsake Jesus. To quote from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, "Since Jesus was dying for our sin as our substitute, He was experiencing the agony of separation from His Father. It was the agony of hell." So, what is my point in bringing all of this up? What I've been convicted of through this time of pain is how reluctant I am to actually follow Christ the way He tells me to. In Luke 9:23, Jesus says, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." We live in such a "me first" society. We are told that self-fulfillment is our right and goal and that we should fight for our rights. But, God calls us to be like Jesus who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped but He made Himself nothing and died on the cross for us. The one person in all of history who had a right to defend Himself instead chose to be the sacrificial lamb so that we could have the chance to be reconciled to God. I Peter 2:23-25 says, "When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 'He himself bore our sins' in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; 'by his wounds you have been healed.' For 'you were like sheep going astray,' but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls." We are not to excuse sin in our lives, but I have. I have fought for "my rights" when I should have been serving others and entrusting myself to God. May we remember what Christ has suffered for us to give us salvation that none of us could ever earn or deserve. May we be more concerned with being righteous than in standing up for our rights. May we be like Jesus who came not to be served but to serve and give His life a ransom for many. Martyred missionary, Jim Elliot is quoted as saying, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." Our eternal reward in Heaven is worth so much more that anything we can gain on this earth.

Is Healing the Goal?

So, I wrote a post the other day about how I'm not sure that healing should be the first thing on a Christian's mind when struggling with illness. I've said before that I want this time in my life to be a time of refining in my Christian walk and that's still true but I also very much want to be healed. I've struggled with what I wrote because I seem to waffle between being strong and really focusing on God and whatever His will is for me in this time and times of just really crying out for relief and answers. I shared this with a younger but very wise friend the other day and she reminded me that the two aren't mutually exclusive. Even Jesus asked God to deliver Him from the fate that He knew awaited Him, but His ultimate prayer was that He would submit to God's will and not His own. So, with that I am going to share what I wrote the other day. Perhaps we can get a dialog going about how others see this and it will be an encouragement to those who need it. By the way, I'm not saying that anyone who is sick should not be taking care of their health or seeking treatment if that is how God is leading, just that our focus needs to stay on God and not our circumstances. Here goes: For Christians, should healing be the goal? I've been thinking about this quite a bit lately. I'm reading through the Bible with the plan suggested by Bible Gateway. The New Testament readings have taken me through the books of Hebrews, James and I Peter lately. Those books all contain verses that encourage us to see our trials as reason for rejoicing. Hebrews 12:5-11 speaks of God disciplining His children. He tells us not to lose heart because He disciplines those that He loves. It compares His discipline of us to that of an earthly father with his child. Verses 10-11 say, "10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." Another translation calls the result "the peaceful fruit of righteousness." Who doesn't want that in their lives? James chapter 1 verses 2-4 say, "2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." Verse 12 says, "12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him." I Peter 1:3-7 speak of the living hope that we have, by God's mercy, through the resurrection of Jesus. Verses 6 and 7 say, "6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."When I first suspected that I had cancer 5 years ago, I sat down intending to pray that the results would not be cancer. The words that came out of my mouth, however, were "Thy will be done." I had been asking God to change me and I suspected that this would be part of the process. I'm not saying that God caused the cancer but that He allowed it to strengthen my faith and perseverance. At the time of my initial diagnosis it was the cry of my heart that the changes I had been asking for would come through this trial. I wanted to be a better wife and mom and be more intentional about teaching my kids about following God. For a while that happened, but as I began to feel healthier some of our old habits crept back in and the focus became more on eradicating the cancer so I could get on with my life. Through this most recent trial of pain and weakness there have, of course, been times of intense crying out to God for healing. There came a point a couple weeks ago, however, that I just felt I needed to praise God in the midst of the storm and stop begging God for healing and clamoring for ways to help Him out with it. I still very much desire to be healed but not at the expense of the refining process that has God in the fire with me. Isaiah 43 1b-2 “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;I have summoned you by name; you are mine.2 When you pass through the waters,I will be with you;and when you pass through the rivers,they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;the flames will not set you ablaze." God's word never promises us a life without trials, but over and over again He promises to be with us no matter what we face. I know there are those who believe and teach that any Christian who has enough faith will be healed by God. I would like to believe that but I don't think it is entirely supported by Scripture. I also know of some giants of the faith who have not been healed but God has greatly used them in His Kingdom. One example of this is Joni Eareckson Tada. Joni was paralyzed in a diving accident many years ago. Her disability has spawned a ministry to folks with disabilities all over the world. She also speaks and is a great encouragement to many I am sure. I am always amazed at her sweet spirit after all that she has been through in her life. I believe it is the result of knowing God's presence in her moments and days. I believe the sense of God's presence comes out of a keen awareness of her need. Trials tend to clear away extraneous issues and bring into sharp focus what is really important. I remember praying, "I want to want what You want for me" in a growth group meeting a couple years ago.I'm not always at the place where I already want what He wants, but it truly is the desire of my heart to get there.