"How could a loving God allow this in your life?" Ever had to defend your faith based on your life circumstance? Of course you have. We all have. It is to be expected as a Christian. But, do we fully understand that as Christians we should learn to expect certain things in our walk and some of it will not be pleasant? Personally, I don't think that we do. Or, we understand it, but refuse to accept it from a personal perspective. We run screaming and crying when life brings us a bowl of pits and we were expecting cherries. Honestly, can you deny this? I can't. I know that I do not like to suffer, but it is a part of Christianity. It is to be expected.
Why do I feel that we should expect suffering in our journey? If you take the time to read the four gospels, it depicts a life of suffering by a man named Jesus Christ. It speaks of a man, our role model, who was born in a stable and slept in a manger. He had little in the way of belongings. In fact the three wise men probably delivered his most valuable possessions because his family was poor. His earthly father, Joseph, was a carpenter. His mother was homely and poor. Jesus was born into suffering. And, it did not change after the birthing process. He grew up suffering. His first experience teaching, at the temple, he was scolded by his mother, Mary, for doing the very work he was born to do. This woman, Mary, was enlightened by an angel before birth that her child was to be the Messiah. Understanding intimately the destiny of her child, she still scolded him for carrying out his calling. Suffering was not foreign to our role model. He understood suffering. He experienced suffering in his own life. Did he complain about his suffering? We are told that he was man and human. I would take this to mean he did experience the same feelings we experience. We are not privy to the discourse he had with his mother on the subject of his calling and her expectations. But, feeling torn between being a "good" son and doing the calling of His father had to be a part of the conversation. How did this affect him? How did he feel about being put in this situation? We don't have the answers to some of these questions. But, we know that he experienced what humans experience. And, we know that he did not run screaming and crying. He continued to do the work of his Father. He continued to fulfill his calling. But, he suffered for it.
As a man, Jesus was spat on. He was cussed at. He was shunned. He had to leave his hometown to perform miracles. Read the Gospels. It is in there. He was criticized. He was accused of being from the devil. He was tormented. He suffered. But, again, he did not quit. Did he know beforehand of the suffering he would endure? Surprisingly, yes he did. Did he have a choice? Yes, he did. He willingly chose to suffer for our salvation. So that we could someday spend eternity with him, he chose to endure the sufferings of being fully human and fully God. And, he had no one to follow as his role model. He had his relationship with the Father to provide encouragement and support. But, he had no predecessor.
We do. We have a role model. We can read the gospels and have an understanding of what we will experience in our Christian walk. We can read and be enlightened as to some of the hardships we should expect. If it happened to Jesus, it can happen to us. Yet, so much of the suffering Jesus endured, we here in America have been spared. We do not need to fear for our lives for being believers. We are not spat on for speaking of the Father. We are not in danger of being flogged or beaten with a cat of nine tails for praying in the streets. Yet, we run screaming and whining when we experience suffering. The Christian church is in need of being awakened to the truth of the gospel. We were never promised a life filled with joy and bliss, minus suffering. Those who expect this have not read the gospels. They have not studied the life of their Messiah. Suffering is part of Christianity much the same as pain is part of child birth. It is simply to be expected. And, like child birth, we will experience joy and bliss after the birthing process is complete. We are being birthed here on earth. We will be birthed into eternity one day. But, first we must endure...suffering. There is no getting around that. Learn to accept this as part of the journey of Christianity. It is the truth and was never hidden in the Word of God. If we can learn to expect to endure the same suffering Jesus did while maintaining the sane attitude, we will learn to be grateful that our suffering pales in comparison to what Jesus endured.
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