Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - Mar/86

Contributor - Freda Witteveen

Title - The Virtue of Suffering

Topic - Women

I have not personally experienced the pain of childbirth, however, in listening to the accounts of friends and relatives, I know that the pain which accompanies the emergence of the new life can vary in both intensity and duration. I have also not endured the pain of major surgery and a long and arduous recovery, struggled with a physical handicap, or suffered major financial losses as the result of some natural disaster. I have never encountered personal rejection from my family or peers. Indeed, in this life I have been truly blessed.

Through the miracle of modern technology we are able daily to witness much suffering in the world around us. We see vividly on the television screen the disintegration of the Challenger shuttle, the tangled, twisted wreckage of train cars where in an instant valuable lives are crushed; we see firsthand the grief of family and friends after accidents and through the course of murder trials. We see in magazines and newspapers in great detail the sufferings of the citizens of Third World countries through famine, disease, and political injustices. Suffering exists in many forms continually about us; we have no need or desire to seek it out.

Yet in the season of Lent and Easter as Christians we must focus our thoughts on the suffering Jesus endured as He fulfilled His destiny on the torturous path to the Cross. It is by working through this process that we are able to partake of the joy of knowing the resurrected Christ.

Suffering is not spoken of frequently in the modern church. Knowing how hard it is to get someone new to come to church, we don't want to scare them off with a lot of talk about the necessity of the true Christian to suffer. That is seen as an old-fashioned theme of religion. Yet at the same time we cannot deny the suffering of Jesus and the many references to suffering found throughout the New Testament. The Gospels describe the suffering of Christ in a simple but very direct manner to make the story more dramatic for us, to give emphasis, and to make us empathize with Christ. He was rejected by family, friends, and followers. Everyone seemed filled with hatred for Him. He was humiliated and endured extreme physical pain. Underlying all the accounts is the message that if Christ is our example we can expect the same treatment. Indeed, throughout history we know this to be true.

The writer of Mark deals often with the theme of suffering. He sees Jesus ushering in a new age for the new covenant people, and urgently appeals to the reader to prepare for this time, which then was expected within the lifetime of the believers. The author feels the community is certain to undergo suffering as Jesus did but that there will be divine vindication for those who endure faithfully.

Early in the book of Mark the reader is forewarned of the death of Jesus (2:20 and 3:6) and when we read further in the Parable of the Sower, we find that when tribulation or persecution on account of the Christian message becomes a real possibility, those bringing the message aye likely to fall away from the faith.

In Mark 8:31, 9:3 1, and 10:33, 34, we find three predictions of the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and we can at the same time refer back to the book of Daniel where faith is also tested by the fire and the den of lions. From the reaction of Peter we see that he does not accept the painful dimensions of Jesus' role as the Messiah and thus rejects the role of suffering and persecution that is a major feature of discipleship. In Chapter 9, verses 33 - 37, and Chapter 10, verses 35 45, we see that the appeals of the disciples are met by Jesus with a lesson on the necessity of serving, to the point of hardship, for the sake of the Kingdom. To the writer of Mark, Christianity was a process of spiritual maturation through sharing in Christ's suffering, resembling Him in His death, possibly martyrdom, and the hope of sharing in His resurrection. We find the same view in Philippians 3:8b - 11, "For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ, and be found in Him ... and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, that if possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead."

Note the following passages that also refer to suffering: I Peter 2:2 1, "For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps." I Peter 4:12, 13, "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal which comes upon you to prove you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice in so far as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed." Philippians 1:29, "For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in Him but also suffer for His sake."

In the book of Acts we read how the new Christians are beaten, stoned, imprisoned, and driven from their own districts as they seek to call both Gentiles and Jews to repent. Paul outlines his personal sufferings in II Corinthians 1 1: 24 28 and presents in I Corinthians 4:11, 12, 13 a chilling description of the life of the early workers of the church: "To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are ill-clad and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become, and are now, as the refuse of the world, the offscouring of all things."

Yes, we must be aware that we may be required to suffer in some form or another for our faith, be aware that the life of the Christian is not "happy ever after", but we can do and do endure because we know our decision was right and that we will be redeemed by Christ when He appears in triumph and in the glory of the Holy Father.

As the woman undergoes suffering and pain to bring about the birth of a healthy new life, so we and the church, now just as surely as in New Testament time, will undergo pain and suffering to establish His great Kingdom. Let us in the Easter time and in the weeks to come think more of the suffering of our Lord.

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