Suffering

As Christians we are followers of Jesus. We want to be like Him. We see His life in the Bible, reading about His teachings and the great works He did. But sometimes in our zeal to imitate Him we overlook the heart from which His words and actions proceed. Have you ever wondered why Jesus’ prayers were answered, and ours may or may not be heard? We believe that our prayers are answered according to our faith, but being like Jesus has more to do with faith than the usual attributes of faith, believing and confession.

Jesus’ prayers were heard by His Father because of His reverent submission to God (Heb 5:7). It was His attitude towards His Father which caused His heart to submit to suffering, learn obedience, and become our Savior (Heb 5:8-10). Jesus kept His eyes on God’s big plan for humanity. He didn’t ask God to become part of His little plan for Himself. And this is why His prayers were heard.

We might look at the suffering of Christ as something that was part of God’s plan for our salvation, and that it is not necessary for us to do the same. If we follow this line of reasoning and don’t want to imitate that part of Jesus’ life, but we want to do great things for God, then we might say “Let’s imitate Paul’s life.” After all, he did mighty things and God surely answered Paul’s prayers too. Yet Paul said that he wanted to “know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like him in his death and so, somehow to attain to the resurrection from the dead.” (Phil 3:10-11). It sounds like Paul is saying that he wanted to become like Jesus, and to do so he must also suffer.

Human beings do not like to suffer. In fact, we look to Jesus to relieve us of our suffering. He mends broken hearts, heals afflictions, and sets the captives free of both spiritual and physical oppression. So how does a Christian look at suffering, and why is it a part of learning submission?

A child learns submission through correction, nurturing, and instruction. When good examples (nurturing) and instruction do not prevent a child from doing wrong nor inspire him to do right, the parent corrects the child. Since the nature of a child is based on self-interest and gratification of his desires, it is necessary for him to learn unselfishness by correcting the natural inclinations of his nature, which we call the “flesh”. Though children suffer by not having what they want, this correction is a process whereby they grow to become thoughtful and considerate adults.

As an adult, we also suffer correction for the desires and actions of our flesh. All correction brings suffering, yet by it we are molded into righteousness (Heb 12:11). We find that, though in the natural we would like to avoid the putting down or crucifying of our flesh, in the spiritual it is the only way to become like Jesus. And herein is true faith; the belief that as He was, we are on this earth (1 Jn 4:17). Becoming like Jesus is not a magical thing that happens at the end of our days on this earth, but a process we partake in, if we truly want to be Christians.

In Jesus’ days some followed Him for the loaves and fishes. They wanted to see the miracles, and the same is true today. Yet, our prayers for healing and other works of power will be better heard by our Father if we partake of Jesus’ nature and become a part of God’s bigger plan for humanity. Submission can best be seen in our willingness to empty ourselves of our own plans and desires and following after God’s plans. This submission is how we truly follow Christ, and we learn it by suffering. Though it is unpleasant, we become as Jesus was, and that is the true definition of being a Christian, and the highest calling of our faith. Amen.