SUFFERING - BY JOHN PIPER: A REFLECTION

a wise man once said, "If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men."

deep words. deep implications. this wise man was Paul, an honourable disciple of Christ (1 Cor 15:19). what made him say what he said? what were his underlying beliefs?

to paraphrase him, he had basically implied that a Christian's life ought to be one that was pitiful. and that the only hope we have is that in the afterlife, some good would be wrought from our suffering. (if there were no afterlife, our efforts are in vain, to be pitied.)

goodness gracious me, what does that mean?

to put it harshly,
this means that as Christians, suffering is expected of our job scope.
this means that a Christian life is not going to be as comfortable as we hope.
this means that Christian living comes with challenges that will cost us.
this means that God didn't just want us to be prosperous and healthy and comfortable and happy and NOT DO ANYTHING OUTSIDE OF OUR COMFORT ZONE.

ouch.

that is honestly hard to swallow. it is indeed very tempting to dismiss it all as radical heresy. extremist. heretical. unfounded.

i wonder how. i wonder why.

let's consider the reverse: if God simply existed to prosper us and bless us and make us happy, wouldn't life be just great? in fact, it would be too great. then what would be different from us and the rest of the secular world? would God then just be a genie-in-a-bottle? something isn't right here, either.

so what is it?

if we follow the life of Paul as an example, we would catch a glimpse of what he meant. he endured hardship to preach the gospel. he suffered for the sake of the gospel. he was even martyred because of it. he was truly a radical. and it was because he understood the weight and significance of Jesus' crucifixion well. the people saw the love of Christ exemplified in his suffering.

simply put, if Jesus means so much to us; is so real to us, then it would definitely be something worth suffering for. if our friends saw that it mattered that much to us, then our God surely must be of some substance.

we don't all have to fly to some far-off country to be martyred (though that would be something, wouldn't it), but are we even willing to risk "losing face" to share God's love with someone? a friend, a loved one? the homeless guy sleeping on the bench?

the question is, what are we doing about it? do we make light of Christianity? are we simply trying to maximise our comfort -- tapping from the best of both worlds?

weighty questions. weighty reflections.


Lord, i need compassion; stir my heart, move me. may i be willing to be used by You -- change my heart. use me to do great things for You, Lord, and may Your joy forever be with me. this is your servant, checking in.