Disciple - Worth the Pain

Hey everybody, I know it's been almost two weeks since the last time I blogged...the last few weeks have been insanely busy. Last week, I don't think I went a day without at least two meetings in the afternoon, not to mention an exam and a few projects. This week is pretty homework-heavy, with two more exams and two presentations to work on. But at the same time, I've gotten to do some pretty awesome stuff the last few days. Friday night and Saturday morning was what's called CedarMania, where junior high students come here to Cedarville for an all-nighter, stuffed with games and really cool messages. I got to be a group leader for a youth group of six kids, which was a whole lot of fun. This year's theme was 'Wanted', and it was basically about how, because of the fall, we're all outlaws from God's truth and His rules. But we're desperately wanted by Him all the same, more than anything we could possibly think of or desire. In a world where self-image is so important, it was a great message for us to hear.

After coming back from my break from writing, I thought that I'd continue my thought from before on the theme of pain. But let's take it another step from the last post. We know that the pain helps us, but the Bible tells us in several places that we are to count it as joy when we suffer. 1 Peter 4:16 says "If anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name." We can turn what is a bad, evil thing into something that praises God. The apostles did this in Acts 5 (v. 41): "Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name." Even though they were imprisoned, beaten, and even killed, they counted their pain as a blessing. How many of us could do that today if this were to happen to us? Or would we reject the blessing of our pain and "Curse God and die" (Job 2:9)

In Second Corinthians 12:10, Paul tells us, "For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." Even though he had to deal with intense persecution during his ministry, he endured it for Christ's sake. Through his weaknesses, he was able to be more effective than he could through his strengths alone. And we'll never be alone in our suffering, when we are in fellowship with other believers. Galatians 6:2 issues the command, "Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." We are called to be there for our brothers and sisters when they go through the trials of life. With the body of believers behind us, and with God always with us, we're never truly alone in our pain.

Our suffering is for a reason: the proclamation of His name and His Kingdom is worth our pain. Let's be the light in the world by thanking God for allowing us to suffer for His name.