"24 Nw I rejoice in what was sufffered for you, and I fill up inmy flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God inits fullness-- the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints."
So... Now that Jesus has suffered to open the door, this man is standing, proclaiming the opportunity of escape to the whole world... He has caused turmoil in the status quo. He has been carried by mobs, imprisoned, beaten by soldiers... the guy is marked up...
He has rank, this scarred brother. Do you believe in rank? Do you recognize suffering in the cause as a reccommentder of the messenger?
Many today see suffering as a sign of Gods disapproval of a person. They postulate that these people must be under God's curse or discipline, otherwise they'd have an easier time. otherwise they'd be more like us--we who gravitate toward comfort...
why do you mourn while we party?
why do you rant and rave while others oooh and aaah?
But the apostle introduces a revolutionary (turning around-ly) concept here. It is that there is something missing at the crucifiiction!!! do you hear that? There is something lacking in Xist's afflictions!!! HERESY!!! Burn him!!! to the guillotines!
This is a concept that doesn't go down too smoothly--that the crucifiction wasn't enough...
What was lacking then? The suffering of the servants of the message.
Jesus was clear that to follow him was to bear the cross, to preach the gospel--later letters tell us exactly how (1 Pet 3:15)--to share in fellowship with Him in suffering (phil 3 7-11). These are people who are "becoming like Him in His death..." and "...attain[ing] to the resurrection from the dead."
Look at moses in the Hebrews 11 litany. He rejected the pleasures of egypt for a better resurrection. we do "attain" to the resurrection...
we win it. a prize in a contest...
this is an offensive line of reason to many of us. we value "fairness". ihave learned not to say "sorry". I'm not. I'm glad that the kingdom is. that the king is.
he is...he is...
think of our community's name: Grubbykupp... 2 Cor. 4 says earthen vessel/clay pot stuff about us...
it also says:
"We always carry around in ou body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed inour body. For we who are alive are alway being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed..."
pardon the mistakes, i'm still ona pda... but do you hear that? Where's the room for shying away from a strong "suffering rhetoric"? in church teaching today?
This is stuff that might empty th pews because it is about becoming poor for the sake o the message...of the Lord Himself...of the church... what?
when Jesus said, "it is finished", it was the beginning of a thing.
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Lew, may the Lord give you His peace!
ReplyDeleteBro, I grieve for Chris, but even more I ponder heavily the words of Christ, "Weep not for me, but for yourselves and your children." Chris's fate now is to eternally praise God, for every knee will bow. Chris either praises God now eternally for His mercy and great love in heaven, or he is now honoring His justice in Hell. I pray that it is the former. I pray that we may see in his life and death a reminder to us to love more, to lay down our lives more, and God forbid, be uncomfortable in our love with the hope that we may never taste the final death, which is an unquenchable fire. Bro, you are right on! Let us suffer, let us fill up what is lacking. Yet the thing that the world and its powers do not understand is that a follower Christ does all of these, what appear to be morbid things, with great joy. The hallmark of a Christian is joy, not comfort. Joy in our hearts at His truth, His Word, His Mercy, His Spirit, Our Father, Our Saving Actions that we carry out in His Name, for His Kingdom. A very good friend that I am blessed by having in my life used to say to me some of the best counsel I have ever received, "Die well". When persecuted, when wrongly accused, when uncomfortable, when tempted, when stolen from, when let down- Die well. Thank you for that counsel. Maranatha!