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Feb. 11, 2007 “For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake.” Philippians 1:29 We read the field reports from the world’s missions and we sometimes have to cringe at the abuses suffered by friends and family that have determined the mission field is their calling. In many places Jesus cannot be spoken of. Jesus is a matter of ridicule. Idols are the preferred form of worship. There are many examples in the pages of scriptures displaying the suffering of men and women who chose to follow the True God. It was Paul the Apostle who dictated the sentence above. There were few men who would know better what suffering for a personal testimony consisted of. Every Christian faces forms of suffering. Even the most “well-off” Christian can be chastised or tested. We read of Job who was simply minding his own business and maintaining his love of God yet was caught up in a contest between God and Satan. We must see this as an example set in writing to remind us that Satan is sometimes given permission to vex a believer as a test of spiritual endurance. Christians are spiritually tested all the time. We do not belong to the world but we must live in the world. We abide by the laws written to uphold peace and safety. We pay taxes and we hold jobs in the community. A workman is worth his hire. In the days of the Apostles there were forms of servitude and slavery unacceptable by today’s standards of men. Yet, when Paul wrote his epistles he wrote to the slaves and the masters equally. By the words of Jesus it was known truth that there was neither barbarian nor Scythian; bond nor free. All men were counted equally upon entrance into the godhead. The point was that no slave was to cause his master suffering. No Master was to bring undue suffering to his servants. It would be enough that all would suffer for the sake of being Christian. All who were brought into the early church had suffered in some form or another. When the Christian is finally home the suffering will stop and there will be peace; until that time the Christian must accept his place in the Godhead and be prepared for rejection, trial and suffering. The Christian in this age is ridiculed and misunderstood by the unfaithful of the world. Paul likened the Christian life to that of a race. He requested endurance from all who desired to run the race set before. There would be a prize like no other reward ever. It would be a prize awarded by God himself. It may be a while before the Lord returns but he said he would. We who believe the promises of God know he will remain true to the promise. We wait; impatiently perhaps, but we wait. We continue our missions and speak our testimonies. We pray and we hope and we work for the betterment of mankind. We remain meek but certain of our place. We do not fear the wrath to come because we know we are not to be part of that. We will hear the trumpet. We will attend the marriage supper. We will return with our Lord at the time of his choosing. The suffering will end. Christian “for you it is given…not only to believe…but also to suffer”. ------------ Email Skip: skiptoomaloo@hotmail.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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