NOW I Can Rejoice

“NOW – I rejoice in what I am suffering” (Note the link – I left it out last time – “NOW” Col 1:24 (NIV)

   The Past Once you were alienated from God, his enemies.

The Present

But NOW he has reconciled you through the physical death (suffering) of Christ, made you his friend.

The Future To present you holy in his sight, without blemish, free from accusation.

Presented – “to convey to another as a possession,” (carries a note of formality and ceremony)

All our suffering falls under the shadow of the cross of Christ. It is therefore filled with significance, albeit a different significance.

This is of the utmost importance, since the first thought that naturally crosses out minds is “Where is God in all this?”

The devil adds his sinister attack by suggesting it is indicative that God does not love you after all. The devil turns the spotlight on you as a victim. He seeks to DIMINISH YOU! That in turn causes you to feel distant from God, isolated and ignored by God.

All of that is negated by this statement. 

This statement means that God identifies your suffering as deeply meaningful. He does not hide his face, and it is not indicative of his withdrawal.  In fact God turns His floodlight on you and gives you the status of a hero. He EXALTS  you

Correctly understood, it is God drawing you into fellowship of a most unique kind. 

One of the hardest things I have ever done was leading a team to build a clinic for the poor in Demaguette City in the Philippines. Day and night the temperature was over 90 degrees. The humidity was mostly in the 80’s. We were to mix concrete for the floor, only to discover they knew nothing about a garden hose, and the nearest water point was some 200 feet away. There were no wheel barrows. So we carried the sacks of cement, carried buckets of sand, and buckets of stone. Then we carried buckets of water, Then we mixed it all by hand, and then carried buckets of concrete to the place of laying. When any of us get together, or when we communicate, there is a bond between us that anyone who was not on that mission cannot understand, let alone appreciate. 

The hardship formed us into a unique “Band of Brothers”

It is that bond that Paul establishes with none other than Christ!

It underscores the opposite – far from God withdrawing from you, he is calling you to a special place in his heart, for God suffers.

Admiral McCain was given the order to start the bombing of Hanoi. There was just one small detail – he knew his own son John was being held captive in a prison in Hanoi. He had to give the order to start bombing his own son. The Admirals wife says he did not flinch. But every night he disappear every night for two hours. She found him on his knees with his Bible open.

How much more did God not grieve handing his son over? He was not a disinterested bystander. He is the Father.

God suffesr our sins yet. How patient he is with all my foibles and stubbornness.

It is also for the sake of the Body.

When therefore the persecution of the church commences in Acts, it is recorded that the Apostles and first Christians  “Rejoice to consider themselves worthy of suffering.”