Sharing in the Sufferings of Christ

Hello everyone,

How are you doing on this day? I hope well and bubbling in the Lord. 

Primary Text

“And if we are [His] children, then we are [His] heirs also: heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ [sharing His inheritance with Him]; only we must share His suffering if we are to share His glory.” Romans 8v17 (AMP)

Yesterday, I heard a preaching on the verses – Philippians 3v10-11 (NIV) where Paul says “I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of His resurrection and participation in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.” The preacher said today suffering is something that has been removed from our vocabulary, as Christians I would add. But as heirs of God, if we are to share His glory, we must also share His suffering. I watched a (fictional) movie the other day about a very successful basketball player in the USA who got engaged to a woman. Unfortunately, he suffered a serious leg injury that threatened to destroy his career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). It didn’t seem his contract will be renewed. His fiancée left him. She wanted a better life than being the wife of an “has been” NBA player. He got better and his career began to blossom and she wanted to come back… Beloved, are you only willing to take the good part of what a life in Christ entails and not the sufferings? Christ suffered for us by dying on the Cross and Philippians 1v29 (AMP) tells us “For you have been granted [the privilege] for Christ’s sake, not only to believe and confidently trust in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,” Not many are willing to suffer for Christ’s sake. How do we suffer you might ask – we suffer persecution, we suffer for righteousness sake, when because of God and our conscience towards God we take a stance which goes totally against what the world will consider acceptable and are rebuked, reviled, and shamed for it.

Prayer

Father, I thank You for Your Word this day. I pray for the grace to know Christ and to share in His suffering, and eventually share in His glory in Jesus name, amen.