Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened." But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. 1 Peter 3:12-15
The word "blessed" that Peter uses above to describe our state when suffering for what is right is the same word that Jesus used in the Sermon on the Mount to describe the state of those who are persecuted because of righteousness:
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matthew 5:10-11
The Greek word is makários (μακάριος). It means blessed, happy – to be envied! This word "describes a believer in enviable ('fortunate') position from receiving God's provisions (favor) ... [and] the Lord's inbirthings of faith."1
Martyn Lloyd-Jones has written that this word translated "blessed" could be understood as "to be congratulated." That's startling, isn't it?
"Our Lord says that this is the only kind of person who is truly 'blessed, that is, 'happy'. Someone has suggested that it might be put like this; this is the sort of man who is to be congratulated, this is the sort of man to be envied, for he alone is truly happy." (Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount)
Congratulations! You are suffering!
This is not something we want to hear, and I fear this will not be a popular blog. As C.S. Lewis wrote, "All arguments in justification of suffering provoke bitter resentment against the author." (The Problem of Pain, chapter 6, "Human Pain")
But wait, don't go. Why are we to be congratulated when we suffer for righteousness, or for what is right? Because God's Presence is close beside to comfort and to instill the faith we need. His Presence is near. We are with Him. We have stepped out of this world kingdom and into His. As Jesus declared – theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Elisabeth Elliot wrote this of suffering:
"It's only in the cross that we begin to harmonize this seeming contradiction between suffering and love. And we will never understand suffering unless we understand the love of God ... Take for example the Beatitudes, those wonderful statements of paradox that Jesus gave to the multitudes when he was preaching to them on the mountain. And He said very strange things like this: How happy are those who know what sorrow means. Happy are those who claim nothing. Happy are those who have suffered persecution. What happiness will be yours when people blame you and ill treat you and say all kinds of slanderous things against you. Be glad then, yes, be tremendously glad. Does it make any sense at all? Not unless you see there are two kingdoms: the kingdom of this world and the kingdom of an invisible world. And the apostle Paul understood the difference when he made this stunning declaration. He said, it is now my happiness to suffer for You, my happiness to suffer. It sounds like nonsense, doesn't it? And yet this is God's Word. Janet Erskine Stuart said, "Joy is not the absence of suffering but the presence of God." -- Elisabeth Elliot, Suffering is Never for Nothing, p. 13-14 (emphasis mine)
Dietrich Bonhoeffer also wrote of this blessing in suffering:
"For our sake he cried on the cross: 'My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?' Now we know that there is no longer any suffering on earth in which Christ will not be with us, suffering with us and praying with us--Christ the only helper ... Trust in God without Christ is empty and without certainty; it is only another form of self-trust. But whoever knows that God has entered into our suffering in Jesus Christ himself may say with great confidence: 'Thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.'" -- Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Psalms, the Prayer Book of the Bible (emphasis mine)
So, know beloved that when you suffer for Christ's sake, when you endure, persevere, cling to Him through the darkness, you are to be envied; you are to be congratulated for God is with you. And yours is the Kingdom of Heaven, the place where Jesus is King, the place where you are seated with Him, the place where the angels rejoice over what God is accomplishing in you. The world may sneer, but the sweet, amazing, precious Presence of the Lord is right there with you, comforting, upholding, and birthing in you the faith you need. And our Lord, the angels, and all of heaven are congratulating you.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18
Congratulations! You are suffering!
Image, Sunbeam by Midnight Believer, in the Public Domain https://flic.kr/p/ReAm2w
No comments:
Post a Comment