But who would be the first to comfort? Why, the first to suffer! Who would be the first to speak of the cross with great power and great conviction? (That is, who would be able to speak of the cross with words firmly set in reality?) Who would be the first to declare resurrection? Only one who had died. Who would comfort, except the comforted? Who would heal, except the healed? Who would wield power? None, except those who had been made terribly weak. Who would shield us from legalism and law, except he who had had that beast broken in the depths of his very own nature? Who would pour out his life in long hours of counseling, guidance, direction, except the one who had gained a great deal of counsel, guidance and direction...slowly, painfully, richly...
But why does God permit such suffering to befall his bride?
This suffering produces gold in the lives of those individuals who suffer. That gold, in each life, is then blended into the body of Christ to make the bride what she ought to be.
Careful, Chris, the very thing that you are now rebelling against just might be in perfect harmony with the Lord. What you see and feel so painfully may be the Lord's effort to polish a stone.
Greatly rejoice
Right now you must suffer a little bit.
But these sufferings
These tests of your faith
Are worth a great deal more than gold.
Survive this
And your faith will be proven genuine
And the result will be praise and glory and honor. (1 Pet 1:6-7)
....
It has been given to you,
Not only to believe on him,
But also to suffer for his sake (Philippians 1:29)
One day you are going to look back over your life to recall to mind many an incident. I trust that most of what you remember will be the joys. But remembrances of dark sorrows will surely be included. Whichever tips the balance, remember you will never know how much you owe to suffering. You may even be surprised at just how little the rich blessings and joy have contributed to your growth in divine life. Be sure, some of the greatest blessings yr life will ever know, some of the deepest revelation you will ever peer into, some of the most cherished works the Lord will ever do in your life, yes, the things you hold most dear, were but the child of your greatest sorrow!
One day you will make a chance remark to another believer and be very surprised to discover that your remark deeply blesses and enriches his life. On another occasion, with another Christian whose heart is about to break, you will share something that will change his night to die. You will pause, wonder, and then remember where it was you found that word of wisdom, that oil of comfort.
If you could trace the source, you would find that virtually every help you have ever received- whether it has been from the hands of some brother, or from some word in Christian literature, or perhaps from the scripture- was passed on to you from out of sorrow's fiery furnance and from beneath the bludgeoning blows of suffering's hammer.
Sorrow does have its compensation.
We comfort others, With the comfort that came to us (2 Cor 1:5)
Imagine a distraught, perplexed and broken hearted Paul imprisoned in Rome and addressing a church in a city hundreds of miles away. It is a church he has never seen, and this is what he tells them:
You are rejoicing and filled with praise. You are doing well in Colossae. Why? Because I, Paul, here in Rome, Am taking suffering that was actually meant for you. I am taking that suffering into my very own body, and that has freed you. You are not suffering; you are rejoicing. The pain destined for you lies here in Rome And is now in me.
Suffering meant for believers in Colossae was being absorbed in Rome by Paul. He agonized while they gloried.
But even these are not the last of his mind boggling words. He pressed on to say, 'For this, I was made a minister.'
Paul saw himself as one who was to take up part of the sufferings that really belonged to the church. For this purpose- this incredible purpose- he was made minister....
Now I rejoice in my sufferings. They are for your sake. In my body I am doing my part for his body to complete what is not finished of Christ's afflictions. (Col 1:24)
[24 I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God ]
CHrist did not finish his sufferings while here on earth? There is more suffering for him to complete? Is this what Paul is telling us? And is he saying that he, Paul, could complete those sufferings? Or at least play a part in seeing that those sufferings are completed? The mind drowns in the idea.
Jesus Christ did not complete his early sufferings- incredible!
...
It has been given to the church to complete the sufferings of Christ.
There is Christ who is the Head...that is, he who lived upon the earth, who was crucified, rose and ascended and now reigns. But there is another part of Christ. There is a part of Christ that is right here, right now, upon the earth today- visible-potraying Christ daily before the entire world. I speak of the physical, visible body of Christ. You see, the body is also Christ. The body, which is the church, is part of that Christ. ..
There is one aspect of the cross that none of us will ever know-praise God! We will never know what it means to be the sin bearer. That is one thing I will never experience, nor will you.
The Inward Journey
Gene Edwards
----
Now I understand better what these verses means:
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. 6 Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.
7 And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation.
-2 Cor 1:3-7
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written: "For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." F22 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
-Rom 8:35-39
In case u get the above wrong, its not suffering for suffering per se, or the mentality of a victim. We are victorious in Christ. Though, we will go thru persecution for His name's sake, or He allows us to go thru the fire to build our character. :)
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