June 15, 2008
Last we unpacked what I could have called “a theology of joy.” We live in a culture that is joy-obsessed. People are searching for it with all their heart, mind, soul and strength. But because they have made joy their god, they find themselves not on the upward trajectory to happiness, but the downward spiral to misery. They accumulate stuff, they become workaholics, they look for the one person to make them complete, and joy continues to elude them. But this desire for happiness and joy is God given, it is good, and it’s part of what it means to be human. So we don’t abandon the search for joy, we just need to look in the right place!
We look to God. We affirm that true joy, the kind of joy that isn’t faked or forced, that wells up inside of us, that transcends time, place, situations and circumstances, comes only in God. For our God is a God of joy, who made joy, who is joyful, who gives us joy in Him. We put our life in Him, we put our faith and trust in Him, we put our belief in Him, and when we get our purpose straight in Him, we are, as CS Lewis put it, “surprised by joy.” We are surprised to find the joy of the Lord. It’s the icing on the cake, the after-effect we we’re expecting, which makes it all the better.
But joy isn’t the whole story of our lives is it. In fact, our desire for joy really stems out of the other side of the coin, the other extreme of our lives, and that’s the reality of suffering. In this book of the bible we are studying, Paul, the author, rejoices over the church he planted in Philippi. He prays for them, he thanks God for them, he has the full assurance that God will complete his plan and purpose for them. And he knows that Jesus is coming again, maybe in his lifetime. He knows Jesus will come and complete his work of redeeming and renewing all of the creation. He will complete His redeeming work in all of us, His children. This is the source of his joy! God started a great work of salvation in our world and in our lives, and He will see it through to completion. His plans for the world and our lives cannot and will be thwarted. God is in control!
But there’s the crazy thing: all of this, he shares from a jail cell. He shares from one of the most miserable, hopeless, helpless situations a man can find himself in. He writes this letter of joy even while he suffers. And that’s what we want to get into today. Let me read for you where the letter picks up in verse 12:
Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.
It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The later do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motive or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice!
Yes and I will continue to rejoice for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life of by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain! Philippians 1:12-21
Paul has been thrown in prison for telling people about Jesus and calling them to put their life and belief in Him as Lord and Savior. We might think that is crazy in our modern world with so many freedoms, but this was in fact one of the greatest crimes against Rome. For Rome demanded that the emperor alone is Lord and Savior. You can have other gods, worship them, whatever, but the emperor is the Lord, and he is your salvation. Paul is building a church on a different Lord and savior- Jesus.
And as if suffering in prison wasn’t enough, he suffers more because his enemies are stirring up trouble for him. They are stirring up so much trouble that Paul isn’t sure if he is going to live or die. But what’s amazing is that this doesn’t really bother him. To live, he says, is to serve Christ, and to die is to be with Christ. In fact, he goes on to say he is torn between the two. Part of him just wants to end the suffering that he knows in this world, to be put to death, and to be with Jesus; the other part knows that God continues to have a purpose and plan for his life on this earth. That plan is even evident in prison. For even there, perhaps all the more there, the gospel is being preached and is changing lives. All the guards, all the prisoners, all the brothers in Jesus know that he is in chains for the gospel. And as long as he is, he will continue to preach and to encourage the other believers. So Paul will press on in joy and in suffering.
What Paul has done, through his own suffering, and through the suffering of Jesus Christ, has given us a very tight “theology of suffering” to help us makes sense of our own suffering. What I don’t have to convince you of this morning is that you will suffer. I don’t have to convince you because you already agree with me whole-heartedly. “No argument here George, I have suffered and I continue to suffer, and in fact, I don’t think you have any idea how much I suffer.” You shed many tears, you have sleepless nights, you have know pain and misery and sorrow and sadness. If there someone here who doesn’t agree with me that there is suffering in this world, I’m just going to say, wait. I don’t say that smugly, or with some perverse pleasure in suffering. I’m just saying, you’ll find out soon enough. If you don’t think there’s suffering just stick with me, because someday you’ll need what I’m about to tell you.
What I do want to convince you of this morning is that suffering is in fact part of the Christian life. That you will suffer in this life- so use it! You will suffer in this world, so take advantage of it. You will suffer in your life, so seize it as an opportunity. You will suffer so don’t waste it! Today I want us to develop our theology of suffering, and I want to be very clear about this- Suffering is not to be esteemed as a virtue, not avoided at all costs, but rather, seized as an opportunity to glorify God and grow in our faith.
First, I want to be very clear suffering is not to be esteemed or pursued. This is one far end of the spectrum, and the earlier of the two mistakes we make regarding suffering. The early church rightly observed, and embraced the fact, that Jesus suffered. This was revolutionary in itself. We are going to get into this in a big way in chapter 2. It was compelling for many, it was transformational, that Jesus suffered. So some folks when to the extreme to actually pursue suffering. They sought to deny themselves pleasure, to deny themselves beauty, and food, and drink, and joy. The actually sought to be martyrs, they wanted to suffer and die for Jesus. Folks, there is nothing noble in this. There is nothing biblical in this. Suffering is not to be sought after. Suffering is not the way it’s supposed to be. The bible story begins with a world where there is no suffering. There was no pain, no sorrow, no suffering before sin entered the world with the fall of man. The bible ends with a world where suffering is again destroyed. Suffering is not to be elevated to a timeless Christian ideal to seek through the centuries and into eternity. The logical conclusion to seek suffering is to seek life outside of a relationship with God, apart of Jesus, apart of the redemption only he can offer, and that is sick, that is wrong. We don’t seek suffering, that’s not the same as seizing it as an opportunity.
The other extreme is to deny, or avoid suffering at all costs. To say that suffering has no place in the Christian life. This is to deny reality, to deny what the bible teaches, and to deny ourselves opportunities that God has placed before us. The extreme of avoidance is more modern mistake. To avoid pain and suffering physically, emotionally, spiritually, financially, at any cost. There is a false gospel that says the Christian life is free from suffering. And if you are experiencing suffering, you just need to pray more, work harder, confess some sin. Now to be sure, that is sometimes the case. When certain types of suffering come into our lives, the right response is repentance and confession. I’m talking about kind of theology that says this side of Jesus’ return we are to actually pursue a life free and void of suffering. A theology that says all pain and suffering is merely evidence that somehow we are not right with God. This is a lie, this is a works based salvation, and sadly, this kind of theology actually leads to more compound suffering in many peoples lives.
This view taken to the extreme completely loses sight of the fact that Jesus suffered, that Paul suffered, that all of the disciples, but one, to the best of our knowledge, did in fact die as martyrs. This view taken to the extreme denies the reality of suffering in Jesus life because of sin, denies the reality of suffering in our lives and in our world.
There have been parents of sick children who have let their children suffer because they think they have to just have faith, and just pray enough, and that they shouldn’t use their brains and get help. And their children have died. And when that happens to people in churches that teach this kind of theology, the church is forced to decide- do we change our theology and comfort them in their suffering, or do we stick with our theology and rebuke them for not praying, repenting or having enough faith to save their child. Then they decide to not change their theology, and they rebuke and cast out the parents. These folks are left suffering because they’ve lost their child, they’ve been ostracized by their faith community, and they believe that is was their lack of faith that killed their child, when it was their wrong theology. It is the saddest irony that not having a proper theology of suffering actually increases the experience of suffering in so many lives.
Which is why we now move to outline the true causes, purpose, and response of suffering. Suffering is not to be sought, not to be avoided, but a reality of life and can be used as an opportunity. And here’s how it starts to work out:
First, we suffer because we live in a fallen world. Sometimes, in fact a lot of the time, the source of suffering just traces back down to the fact that we live in a fallen and sinful world, and there will be pain and suffering in this world until Jesus comes back to redeem all of creation. So we suffer because it’s fallen world and we can’t really pin the blame on anyone, because it’s just to complex. We call this original sin, that we don’t have the option but to be born into a sinful and fallen world, that we are sinful and fallen people, and that a huge amount of suffering will be a part of our world and live because of this. We suffer physically because of poor immune systems, we suffer emotionally because we are emotionally bankrupt, we suffer relationally because we are broken people, we just suffer in this fallen world.
Second, sometimes we suffer because of our own dumb choices. We suffer the consequences of our decisions, and our mistakes. If you jump out of a plane without a parachute, you are going to suffer the consequences of gravity, which isn’t so bad until you suffer the reality of the ground. If you are a lousy husband or wife, you are going to suffer divorce, and all the emotional and financial suffering that follows. If you break the law, you will suffer imprisonment. There is nothing noble or redemptive about this kind of suffering. If we learn a lesson, yes, but if we suffer because of our dumb mistakes we can’t run around saying, “I’m like Jesus, I’m blessed because I’m persecuted, I’m a saint because I’m suffering.” No, you’re suffering because you’re a fool, and you need to repent and confess that, and change the way you think and act.
Third, we suffer because of others choices. We suffer because of what others inflict upon us. We suffer because others, like us, are sinful, selfish, fallen people and sinful fallen selfish people often do horrible things to other people. This is why we have laws, why we have police, why we have wars, because we inflict suffering on other people, because people inflict suffering on us. We suffer because someone drinks too much, gets in their car, and kills our spouse. We suffer because a parent abuses us, and they abuse us because their parents abused them, and a vicious cycle of suffering is perpetuated. We suffer because a thief takes our bike to buy drugs (let it go George, let it go).
Before the final cause let me add this- let us never forget that we are often the “other.” It’s our choices and actions that cause others suffering. The hard reality of life, of my life in fact, is that many decisions I’ve made have caused pain and sorrow for other people. We can never say, “Why doesn’t God just root out all evil and sin and suffering in the world, because if he did, he would have to start with me, then you, then everyone else. Because everyone of us has been a source of suffering in the world.
Fourth, and finally, and in all these areas, we suffer because God allows it. And here’s where we have to get our thinking straight. God is not the source of suffering, but God allows suffering to come into our lives. Now if it were not for the grace and mercy and love of God, I believe we would all be overcome with suffering and death instantaneously. We’d simply be wiped out. However, God’s hand of mercy acts as a giant floodgate stopping the suffering and death that would overcome us all. But suffering and sin do spill over. God is aware of this, allows us, and so God uses this.
Suffering is not to be sought, not to be avoided, but a reality of life and can be used as an opportunity. Jesus suffered physically, you will suffer physically. Jesus suffered emotionally, you will suffer emotionally. Jesus suffered relationally, you will suffer relationally. It is a part of this fallen world and it can be claimed as an opportunity. And opportunity for two things- for God’s glory, and our growth.
Suffering will grow you. You will grow in your faith, you will grow in compassion, you will grow in prayer, you will grow in resolve, you will grow in maturity. How many of us have gone through a dark valley? We have suffered greatly, we have hurt terribly, we would never in a million years want to go through that lose, that grief, that pain that persecution, that suffering again. To desire that would be sick and self-loathing. But neither would we trade what we have learned and how we have grown for the world. Some of you know what I’m talking about. You are who you are because of the suffering. That’s because you used if for God’s glory.
Others here, maybe you don’t, you’re still lost in the pain of suffering. Many people, when suffering happens, when crisis hits, they are not ready for it, and it puts them into a tailspin. Many of you have been in that tailspin, you’re still spinning, your dropping fast, your dizzy and disoriented, and you are just waiting for the firey crash. To you I simply have one encouragement- please don’t give up on God, because God hasn’t given up on you. Please don’t turn away from God, but turn to God. Right now, maybe this is your darkest hour, your worst suffering, you tailspin. I implore you, don’t lose hope, don’t lose faith, don’t think for a minute that God has lost you. But now, right now is the time to turn to God who like no other God, will stand with you in solidarity with suffering. To you in that tailspin I want to tell you that God is with you and God can help you. So turn to the God who knows your suffering and pain. And turn this suffering around to opportunity.
A Romanian pastor, in the wake of the intense persecution of the church under communism, wrote,
“Christians are like nails- the harder you hit them, the deeper they go!”
- When the world hits you, go deeper
- When you lose your job, go deeper
- When you lose your health, go deeper
- When you lose your spouse, go deeper
- When you lose your child, go deeper
- When you start to lose your faith, go deeper
- When you start to lose your hope, go deeper
- When you start to lose your love, go deeper
The world hit Jesus with rejection…betrayal…lies…whips…rods…with stones… The world hit Jesus with nails, and hung him on a cross, where he suffered not only the physical pain, the excruciating pain in his body, he suffered more. He suffered in a way we can never know, and this is the great mercy of Jesus, that he took this suffering we could not bear. Jesus, the Son of God, without sin, perfect and pure, took the weight of our sins, of our world, and he hoisted them on that cross. He suffered the consequences of the sins he never committed, he suffered the death we should endure. And for that moment, in a way we can’t comprehend, he suffered the withdrawal of his heavenly father.
I believe this with my whole heart- the greatest cry of anguish the world has ever heard, the greatest pain and suffering that anyone has ever know, is the suffering that Jesus felt at that moment when he said on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” For that moment Jesus suffered hell- Jesus suffered what it means to be separated from holiness and glory of God. It was metaphysically torn from himself, ripped apart from his own being. It’s a suffering we can’t even imagine because of the common grace of God.
When you get hit, go deeper. When you suffer, go deeper with Jesus. Go as deep as you have to go. Go as deep as Jesus calls you to go. And then God will be glorified in you.
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