THE PRIVILEGE OF SUFFERING

For you have been granted the privilege not only of believing in Christ but also of suffering for him.  Phil. 1:29, N.E.B.

Though she had the money to purchase good-quality clothes, she wore tattered, thrift shop garments.  Her house was sparsely furnished and her table set with only the plainest of provisions, all unseasoned and meager.  She smiled only faintly and spoke in the hushed tones of someone in the terminal ward of a hospital.  More often than not, when you called on her, you would find her seated at her table reading her Bible.

Most of us are a little taken aback by people who impose suffering upon themselves as a means of attaining piety.  We are repelled at the thought that that's what it takes to be "godly."  About the only thing that's worse is to believe that God Himself sometimes imposes this kind of suffering upon people in order to "build their characters."

What was Paul talking about in today's scripture when he said that it is our privilege to suffer for Christ?  Is he talking about just bodily distress?  In his Second Letter to the Corinthians he states, "Indeed, experience shows that the more we share in Christ's immeasurable suffering the more we are able to give of his encouragement" (chap. 1:5, Phillips).  Perhaps the answer can be known only if we stop to consider what made Christ suffer.  We most naturally think of Calvary as the place of His agony, but does His physical ordeal at Golgotha really epitomize the suffering He endured as the "Man of Sorrows"?

See His tears at the tomb of Lazarus as Martha expresses her sorrow that He could have saved her brother from death.  Hear the pain in His voice as He addresses Peter, dripping wet from being pulled from the sea upon which he had walked: "Why did you doubt [Me]?" (Matt. 14:31, N.I.V.).  Be shocked at the intensity of His grief as He weeps over Jerusalem, where His rejection as the Son of God will be fully revealed.  And remember: in each of these incidents, He sorrowed not for Himself, but for His earthly children who sustained needless woe because they did not understand who He was, or the Father who sent Him.

It is our privilege not only to believe in Christ, but to be so healed by our friendship with Him that we share the great passion of His heart: to reveal the Father to hurting mankind.

WHAT MAKES PEOPLE ACT THAT WAY?

When he came in sight of the city, he wept over it.  Luke 19:41, N.E.B.


I was single-mindedly boring down the freeway, intent on the destination I had in mind.  Suddenly another driver swerved into my lane, in the very spot that I felt should have been occupied by my front fender.  I was more than irate; I was fuming.  By my feelings, I must have assumed he was meanly glancing into his rearview mirror, with a fiendish glint in his eyes, thinking, "I'll wait till he gets right next to me; then I'll cut suddenly into his way."  Calculating.  Perverse.  Deliberately sinful.

It was only the next day, on the same stretch of freeway, that I failed to see a car in the blind spot between my mirrors, and I ducked suddenly into his path.  His screeching tires and the lengthy blast of his horn told me exactly what he was thinking of me.  But I was innocent!  Careless, perhaps.  But not at all the mean, deliberately perverse road animal his shaking fist and blaring horn were accusing me of being.  I wanted to defend myself.  To explain to him.  But he had barreled on by, probably mumbling something about getting out of the range of such dangerous people.

Does it matter how we view our fellow-strugglers on this sin-blasted planet?  I see a supermarket cashier being sharp with a customer.  Do I assume that she got up that morning, looked herself in the mirror, and deliberately said, "I'm going to give everyone fits today"?  Or do I assume that she is under extreme pressures that I know nothing about and is coping the best she can with a hard and thankless task?

Speaking of the vast majority of sinners, the garden-variety humans all around us: Are they perverse, deliberately evil people who set out every morning with the sole intent of being crassly selfish?  Or are they stumbling, confused, wounded people who would like to defend their actions...or at least apologize for them?  Our answer will determine whether we will view them with disgust or with compassion.  It will dictate whether we will wish to harangue them or to educate and heal them.

How do you think Jesus viewed all those sinners in Jerusalem when, just hours before they turned against Him, He sat on a hill overlooking their city, weeping until His body swayed like a tree in a high wind?

"PRAYING IN THE SPIRIT"

He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.  Rom. 8:27, N.I.V.


Have you ever felt something that you just couldn't put into words?  Then someone came along and verbalized your sentiments exactly.  It was exciting and somehow comforting.  Exciting because it gave your experience tangibility, comforting because you were no longer "alone" in it.

How many times we come to God is prayer and cannot find the words to encompass our yearnings and fears!  Perhaps we desperately need to make ourselves understood but aren't even sure we totally understand.  And so we struggle in prayer, hungry for the assurance not only that God is hearing us, but that His heart and ours are vibrating in unison.

God's great heart is vibrating in unison with ours!  He picks up our sentences and finishes them.  He gives our inner groanings a vehicle of expression that is unmatched in its comprehensiveness.  In every way possible He echoes our own thoughts and feelings affirming our tentative faith in His total commitment to our personhood.  He does this for us in the person of His Spirit.

In our text today we read that "the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will."  If we see God as so totally exalted above us that He requires a go-between in order to make our prayers fit for His ears, we cannot readily enter into the bonding experience afforded to us through communion with Him.  It cannot help underscoring our feelings of inadequacy if we think that our prayers have to be "laundered" or restated by the Holy Spirit before they become viable.

However, when we understand that it is God's posture to "lean forward" as it were, to catch every nuance of meaning as we talk to Him, we realize that the provision of the Spirit is for our sakes, not His.  It is His way of helping "us in our present limitations" (Rom. 8:26, Phillips) to know that He knows what we are trying to say--because He can even provide the words!  We may know that "He who searches our hearts" does so not to find fault in us but to assure us of the intensity of His desire to enter into total union with us.

"What, then, shall we say in response to this?  If God is for us, who can be against us?" (verse 31, N.I.V.).

WHEN I NEED HIM MOST

If I had cherished evil thoughts, the Lord would not have heard me.  Ps. 66:18, N.E.B.


Though he was making a statement, I could tell he was asking a question.  And the earnest frustration of his face let me know that the young man was asking no idle question.  "I don't like the idea," he said, "that God won't hear me as long as I cherish any evil thoughts.  It seems to me that the only possible way I could ever overcome my evil thoughts, especially the ones I cherish, would be if I ask God for help, and He hears me!  What hope is there for any of us if the Lord hears us only after we have stopped thinking all evil thoughts?"


It was one of those vital moments when one's faith is either nurtured or oppressed by one's understanding of how God deals with us sinners.  And it is not an uncommon perception that we must do a whole lot of internal housekeeping before God will condescend to stoop through our shabby doorways.  But is this what David had in mind when he penned today's verse?

Or is David challenging those of us who would be inclined merely to "use" prayer?  Or, more accurately, to "use" God through prayer?  You know, like the person who smokes several packs a day, then prays for good health.  Or the one who spends three hours in front of the television tube for every ten minutes he spends with the Word, then prays with deep fervency for rich spiritual blessings.  If God were to step outside the boundaries of reality and grant those requests, arbitrarily "dishing out" bountiful blessings to people who are walking outside the path of blessing, He would utterly confuse people about that very path.

We have to admit one thing about our God: He is totally committed to reality.  As much as He wants us to enter into prayer with Him, He is too wise to let us come with our "want list" on our lips but with our "self-destruct" list warmly embedded in our hearts.  He is not (as some people would appear to think) a softhearted Santa Claus who is easily hoodwinked into thinking that we're not naughty, but rather quite nice.

Far more important than the gifts we wish He would give us is the wisdom He wishes to give to us.  More than merely being blessed, He wants us to be taught the ways of righteousness--which really is the best blessing.  And all who long to be taught by Him have His ear!

MARRED IN HIS HANDS

But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.  Jer. 18:4, N.I.V.


The classroom was filled with active minds and restless feet.  The teacher seemed unconcerned about making his lesson interesting to his young students. He simply droned on and on from the textbook, entirely unaware that he had lost not only their attention but their respect for him as well.  He was doing his job, he thought, in making the required information available to them.  What they did with it was their problem.

In the same building, another teacher sat on the front of his desk, in active conversation with a dozen or so of his students while the rest of the class listened.  Informal in his approach, he met question after question after question with answers that were geared to allow young minds to wrap around them, exploring and testing their content.  It was exciting and rewarding for everyone, including the teacher.

In order for the second teacher to provide this vital learning opportunity for his class, he knew he had to create an atmosphere of trust and acceptance.  The students lost their inhibitions when they saw that he was willing to adapt the lesson material to their ability to understand.  They felt good about what was happening and consequently learned quickly.  By the end of the year, not only had most of the students mastered the subject, but many felt they had gained a lasting friend in their teacher.

Our God is like the second teacher.  In a metaphor to ancient Israel, He portrayed Himself as a potter shaping clay at a wheel.  When the pot he was making was marred, he did not cast it aside but simply modified his plans and continued working with it.  Unlike an impersonal machine, the potter is attuned to the condition of the clay he is molding.  In the same way, God is aware of what is happening in our lives, and He adjusts His dealings with us accordingly.  Even if He has to adjust His approach to us, we may rest assured that we are still in His hands and that He will continue to work with us

Of this we can be sure: because of the wonderful ability of the great Craftsman, the clay He is molding will turn out wonderfully!  And in these "earthen vessels" He places the treasure of the knowledge of who He is.

GOD WRITES THE LAST CHAPTER

We know that in all things God works for good with those who love him, those whom he has called according to his purpose.  Rom. 8:28, T.E.V.

We Christians ought to join together and file a formal complaint against the insurance companies of the land.  When we read their policy papers and find out that tragedies listed under "acts of God" include trees falling on cars, tornadoes tearing apart homes, and hailstorms ruining crops, we ought to protest.  Who says that our God is to blame for these destructive mishaps!

To be quite honest, we Christians have been saying it.  In our endeavors to portray God as sovereign and all-powerful, we have often put the blame at God's doorway for everything that happens on this earth.  The medieval Christian took the position that God actively caused most tragedies as a form of punishment upon those who had earned His disfavor.  Others have suggested that since God has the power to prevent catastrophes, if He does not do so it is the same as His causing it.

Still another noted Christian speaker advocates that if I am born with a deformed arm I should accept that God has ordained it that way and therefore rejoice.  But regardless of which of these interpretations one may accept, they all have this in common: God gets the bad reputation, and Satan gets off free.

The Bible sets it before us in quite another light.  Satan is the one who causes unending heartache and trauma in this world; but our God is so creative, so clever and resourceful, that--with our cooperation--He can turn any tragedy into a triumph.

One of my favorite descriptions of God is that He is The Great Recoverer.  It is not His desire that I should be born with a deformed arm.  But should I suffer such a mishap, He is marvelously able to turn it into an occasion for growth: for deeper dependence  upon Him and clearer settling of true values.  It was not God's hand that broke Joni Eareckson's neck, but it was surely His hand that guided her spirit into praise and ministry for others.

As the story of my life unfolds, with so many of its key passages having been authored independently, I rejoice in knowing that our God is always able to write the last chapter.  Though I cannot rewrite past history, I can turn the future into the hands of a better Author.

WHAT IS THE BLESSED HOPE?

"Awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ..."  Titus 2:13, R.S.V.


"Maranatha!  Come, Lord Jesus!"  We sing it, we pray it, we anxiously await it.  It is the "blessed hope" of the Christian.  But what is the greatest thing about the second coming of Christ?  Our deliverance from this sin-filled world?  Our reunion with loved ones laid to rest?   Our new immortality?

Stop for a moment and reflect: "Why do I want Jesus to return?"  Don't try to think of "correct answers"--be honest with yourself.  And remember, no answer is a bad answer.  God understands the deeper reasons why we think the way we do.  Take a piece of paper and make two columns.  On one side, list why you want Jesus to come soon.  On the other side, list why you wish He'd take His time.

After having done this exercise, stop again and reflect: "What do I love the most about God?  What about Him makes me feel the most uncomfortable?"  Write these things down, too.  And as you examine the two lists, you very likely will discover a definite correlation between them.  Let me explain.

If one of the things about God that makes you feel uneasy is His role as judge, very probably one of the reasons you wish Jesus would not come very soon is that you do not feel ready.  Or perhaps you listed something about wanting to have a chance to get married, or finish your education, or have the opportunity to enjoy the fruit of your labor.  Possibly, if you were candid enough, you might have written that you felt put off by God's attitude toward material things.

Have you ever considered that God used His judgeship to ward off the accusations of the devil?   And that His desire that we not become attached to the things of this world is because He does not want us to be distracted from becoming friends with Him?

May I suggest that once our view of God is such that we downright relish everything we know about Him, our double-columned page will quickly merge into one under the joyous theme; "Maranatha!  Come, Lord Jesus!"  You see, the very best thing about the second coming of Christ is not the "when" or "what will happen" when He does.  It is who He is!  He is our blessed hope!

WHY DID THEY HIDE?

And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.  Gen. 3:8, R.S.V.


Which of the following statements would you select as more accurate?
A: "Sinning causes us to fear God and to separate from Him."
B. "Separation from God is the sin, and it is sometimes caused by needless fear of Him."

The question is far from religious nit-picking, for our basic understanding of God, sin, and salvation come into focus here.  But sometimes the issues get so muddled up that, like the chicken and the egg, it's hard to find out which one came first--fear or separation.  One of the most useful examples of the fear-and-separation cycle can be found in what happened in the Garden of Eden, for Adam and Eve knew neither one in their original condition.

Our first parents know only the joy of uncluttered union with their heavenly Parent, until the day when Satan persuaded them to accept his interpretation of God's character and intentions toward them.  They changed their mind about God and ceased to trust Him.  Shifting their loyalties to the snake, they accepted his promise of life support and care.  And that, in the clearest sense, was their sin.

Adam and Eve had turned their backs on God.  Spiritually and mentally they were separated from Him.  Believing as they did what Satan had told them about God, they suspected that God would be angry with them for their separation from Him, for the enemy had suggested that God is a tyrant against those who disobey Him.

So when God came walking in the garden in the cool of the day, they did what seemed to be the appropriate thing: they hid in the bushes.  They followed the impulses of fear, forgetting not only God's ability to find them even in the bushes but--worse yet--forgetting that God was searching for His friends, not hunting for His enemies.

When God found them, His response to them was so eagerly redemptive as to settle for all time that we need not fear Him.  For their nakedness He brought costly clothing.  For their fearful apprehension He brought the promise that Another would bear the tragic consequences of their disobedience.  For their confusion He brought the healing instruction of hard labor.  Now, is that a God to be feared?

WHAT WAS WRONG WITH THE FRUIT?

And the Lord God commanded the man saying, "...Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die."  Gen. 2:16, 17, R.S.V.


This verse has suffered terribly at the hands of casual readers through the centuries.  To many it seems little more than a Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale, complete with magic apples that cast spells.  Only, in this case, an evil serpent peddles the fruit and an angry God casts the spell.

Other popular views end up with perceptions of God that are almost as distasteful.  It is commonly held that God simply picked a tree at random in the garden, then told Adam and Eve not to touch it.  It was merely a test of their obedience to arbitrary commands.  An arbitrary command, since it has no inherent consequences for disobedience, must be upheld by the threatened wrath of the Law-giver.  Thus God is one who deals in an arbitrary manner with His intelligent friends, and then threatens to kill them if they don't submit.

Isaiah tells us that Lucifer wanted to make himself like God (Isa. 14:12-14)--as one who himself could sustain life.  How absolutely vital it is that the whole universe be able to know the truth about who the Life-giver really is!

And so God identified two trees to Adam and Eve.  To eat from the tree of life expressed their ongoing choice to draw life from the Life-giver.  There was no magic in the fruit; God Himself was the source of eternal life.  To go to Satan's tree would be a fatal mistake, not because God was angry with them, but because they would have traded the Life-giver for a fraud.

Satan wasn't just offering fruit; he was appealing for a shift of loyalties.  He implied that God was not telling them the truth, that God was keeping them in line through false threats.  He claimed he could take better care of them than the Father could, by helping them experience immediate growth.  "Trust me as your life-giver," he said.  Sadly, they did.  Having broken their relationship with God, they rightfully should have died--and the second death at that!

But God had another plan in mind for upholding reality.  On a rugged hill near Jerusalem, Jesus Himself revealed to the universe what happens when people separate from the Life-giver.

AN ENCOUNTER WITH LOVE

"Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared.  "Go now and leave your life of sin."  John 8:11, N.I.V.

She was humiliated.  Dragged into the dusty street to stand in front of a Man she knew to be of utmost quality, she felt frighteningly exposed and defeated.  A lifetime of heartache welled up inside her as she realized that she had been deliberately trapped and used by the men who now spelled out her sin so explicitly.  Waiting for the first crushing blows of the stones she knew would end her miserable life, she was startled when the Master stooped down and started to write on the ground with His finger.

We know the story.  As the crowd slowly dispersed, one by one, leaving the obviously guilty woman alone with the Man among men, "Jesus straightened up  and asked her, 'Woman, where are they?  Has no one condemned you?"  'No one, sir, ' she said.  'Then neither do I condemn you,' Jesus declared.  'Go now and leave your life of sin' " (John 8:10, 11, N.I.V.).

Amazing!  The guilty not condemned!  Why?  Before we take up theological jargon and begin to analyze the scripturally legal implications, let us stop and witness a miracle--the miracle of His healing love!  Jesus was not one to delve into intricate profundities.  His focus was on people.  And at that moment His focus was on this poor woman who had been stripped of her self-worth.  She needed to experience the genuineness of unconditional love.

She needed to know that no one on earth had the right to condemn her and that no one in heaven wanted to; that God does not use condemnation to force us to contrition, because rejection never heals.  She also needed to grasp that acceptance does not condone misbehavior, though it puts an unqualified value on the individual involved.  Jesus expressed these two vital realities in His brief discourse with her.

By Jesus' noncondemning posture, He allowed this emotionally scarred individual to regain a measure of dignity.  And in His gentle capacity to live within the nurturing power of His acceptance of her.  Sin--the word used to describe the quality of life lived apart from the reality of God--need never bind her again.  She had come face-to-face with God, in the person of His Son, and He had told her plainly how He felt about her!