Tag Archives: Christian

Suffering: An integral part of the Christian life

18 Replies

churchsign“Come suffer with us!” Maybe that should be what we advertise on our church signs. It would be more honest than much of what we see out there.

The New Testament makes it clear that suffering is part of the Christian life. It may not be the part that we like to talk about, but it’s an integral part of who we are.

Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation.” (John 16:33) That’s pretty clear. When Paul and Barnabas went around encouraging new Christians, they told them: “through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:22)

It’s pretty straightforward. Still, we get surprised when bad things happen to good people. We ask “Why me?” “Why them?” and “Why that?” There are dozens of passages that say that Christians will suffer. Hard times aren’t a sign of God’s disfavor. Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.” (2 Corinthians 1:7) He told the Romans: “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” (Romans 8:16-17)

Suffering isn’t fun. But it’s definitely part of the Christian life

Christlike = Christian

Leave a reply

I’m still reading in The Myth of a Christian Nation by Gregory Boyd. One of his basic premises is that for something to be Christian, it has to be Christlike. That is inherent in the meaning of the word Christian. And he argues that a government of this world cannot act in a Christlike fashion and still promote its interests.
Some people might be put off by the title of the book, so it’s important to see that Boyd’s argument isn’t that the United States isn’t Christian; his point is that no nation can act in a truly Christlike fashion and continue to exist. And history shows us that when the church tries to run a worldly kingdom, it soon begins to use worldly methods.
In the end, it comes back to a personal level, and that’s where it’s hardest for me. It’s about living like Christ. Living out the teachings of Christ, like I talked about in the last post. Here’s a great quote from Boyd about how the church should live: “What if the energy and resources used to preserve and tweak the civil religion was (sic) rather spent feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, befriending the drug addict, and visiting the prisoner? … In other words, what if we individually and collectively committed ourselves to the one thing that is needful—to replicating the loving sacrifice of Calvary to all people, at all times, in all places, regardless of their circumstance or merit? what if we just did the kingdom?” (Boyd, pp. 115-16, emphasis his)
I need to be Christlike. Our churches need to be Christlike. More than knowing the right doctrine, we need to live the right life.

Christlike

Leave a reply

Yesterday morning, while doing some reading for an upcoming writing project, I sat down and wrote this:
TIM DOESN’T WANT TO BE LIKE JESUS
That thought struck me while reading the book “Myth of a Christian Nation” by Gregory Boyd (an EXCELLENT read, by the way). I don’t really want to be like Jesus. Man of sorrows? Suffering servant? Lamb that was slain… are you kidding me? I want to be the conquering Lion of Judah, not the Lamb that is worthy because of his sacrifice. He was nailed to a cross! Can any of us say we truly want to travel that road?
““But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”” (Luke 6:27-38)
Be like Jesus? Loving enemies, turning the other cheek, giving to all that ask. Not me. I want to be rich. I want to be powerful. I want vengeance. If I could find the men who came into my house, who terrorized my family, who put a gun to the head of my little girl… I’d not only put a gun to their heads, but I’d pull the trigger. It’s been over 10 years, but I can still feel a rush of anger and hate. I don’t want to share the gospel with them. I don’t want them to come to God. Like Jonah sitting and waiting for Nineveh to be destroyed, I want to see them punished. Bring on the brimstone!
Tim doesn’t want to be like Jesus. That’s what Paul calls “the flesh,” “the old man.” My carnal side. It doesn’t want to be like Jesus. So I rationalize and explain why Jesus didn’t really mean what he said, why following Jesus’ teachings isn’t practical in the 21st century. I might even argue that the gospels don’t apply to Christians. The easiest solution, of course, is to say that Jesus was the Son of God, so of course he could live that way. I’m just a man, so I can’t be expected to be that good.
Fortunately, God has put within me his Spirit. That’s the only hope I have of overcoming Tim, the only hope of being freed from “this body of death.” Only by God’s power can I begin to be who God wants me to be. And I want to be who God wants me to be. It’s Tim that doesn’t want that. It’s my sarx, my flesh.
Lord, help me to follow your Spirit rather than mine.
I was going to take it and rework it to sound nice and pretty for the blog. But I think I’ll just let you read the rough version.

Violence for Jesus

Leave a reply

I don’t know if you saw the story. “Israeli police have made two arrests after fighting erupted between Armenian and Greek Orthodox clergymen at one of Christianity’s most sacred sites – the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.” Here’s a link to the article. From the Al Jazeera website. No, I don’t frequent that website. Just thought it would help us remember that when Christians fight, the world is watching. A caption under a photo says: “Worshippers kicked and punched each other until Israeli police eventually restored order.” Worshippers?
I’ve never been in a church brawl, nor caught between rival monk gangs as they went at it. But I’ve seen the same spirit. A few times in person, but many more times in print and on the Internet. One brother on one Christian list announced that another “isn’t a Christian.” The Spiritual Sword recently declared that one Christian university is “no longer one of us.” Tempers flare on a regular basis. Insults fly. And somewhere, somehow, the world is still watching.
People will point to Jesus’ denouncement of the Pharisees and Paul’s harsh words toward opponents, finding their justification in such examples. For me personally, I can’t write such things without falling into “hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy,” which you may recognize as some of the works of the flesh from Galatians 5:20-21. There’s no justification for our using tools of the flesh to try and achieve spiritual goals.
Keep pointing out to me when I behave like the brawling monks. And I’ll try and do the same for you.