And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. Romans 8:17
John Newton, the man who gave us the beautiful old hymn Amazing Grace, has also given us an excellent illustration of today’s text. Here are Brother Newton’s words: ‘Suppose a man was going to New York to take possession of a large estate, and his carriage should break down a mile before he got to the city, which obliged him to walk the rest of the way; what a fool we should think him, if we saw him ringing his hands, and blubbering out all the remaining mile, ‘My carriage is broken! My carriage is broken!” Brother Newton would remind us that we are en route to a vastly greater city than New York, to receive a far greater possession than any in this entire world, and there must needs be a breakdown of our carriage along the way. But we will reach the city and will receive the possession.
On their return from their first missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas reminded the Christians in Antioch that they ‘must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God’ – Acts 14:22. Tribulartion and suffering should come as no surprise to Christians, given the Lord Jesus’ words in His sermon on the mount: ‘Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you’ Matthew 5:10-12. The New Testament has many verses that refer to our suffering for our Lord, including 1 Peter 4:12-13: ‘Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you. But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy’.
No person with a healthy mind enjoys suffering. Our physical bodies are designed to recoil from pain. Our reflexes are geared to protect us from situations that will bring hurt upon ourselves. But for the Christian, God has given to us the ability to see beyond the suffering to the glory that the suffering will bring us into. And we are also called to appreciate the benefits that come to us from passing through suffering: ‘Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God’ 1 Corinthians 1:3-4. We have already seen in Romans 5:3 that tribulation worketh patience, and we can all use a little more patience in our lives. Best of all, there is the reward and the glory that God will bestow on those who suffer for Christ: ‘ Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love Him’ James 1:12.
The dark cloud of suffering that is such a curse to the world has a glorious silver lining that is precious to the Christian who can see it. -Jim MacIntosh