I want you to know how glad I am that it’s me sitting here in this jail and not you. There’s a lot of suffering to be entered into in this world—the kind of suffering Christ takes on. I welcome the chance to take my share in the church’s part of that suffering. When I became a servant in this church, I experienced this suffering as a sheer gift, God’s way of helping me serve you, laying out the whole truth.
Colossians 1:24-25
In this passage Paul was glad to suffer because he knew that his suffering would help bring people to salvation. He compares it to the kind of suffering Christ took on when He was brutally beaten and hung on the cross, in order for us to find salvation. In the same way we should be willing to suffer in order to help the people in our life find Salvation.
I will be the first to admit I don't like this idea of putting myself out there, offering up my comfortable life, in order to suffer for someone else's salvation. No-one wants to suffer but many still choose it, and I have come to realize that I really have no choice if I am serious about living like Christ. Being a Christian means we are constantly growing closer to maturity in Christ and when we model our lives after Him there is no avoiding suffering for the sake of others. The suffering looks very different in everyone's life and I am learning that although it's not fun, it is necessary and we always have the promise that God will help us through. He doesn't enjoy watching us suffer but He knows the good that will come from it.
Dear God, help me to accept my suffering as something that will further Your Kingdom and help someone find a relationship with you. Give me confidence and strength to do what I know is right even when it is hard.
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