Physical tests, such as a mandatory run, strength test, or realistic training, provide invaluable illustrations of temporary suffering to secure future gain. Pushing through the pain yields physical growth, but it also prevents the consequences of failing those tests. It’s common to remind struggling runners that if they quit, they’ll have to run again in the very near future, so it’s less work to not quit. Pacers cry out encouragements, “It’s going to hurt for the next ten minutes or it’s going to hurt much longer!” The implication is that pain now is preparing for future joy.
The root words for compassion are “com”-together, and “pati”-suffering,
which mean to suffer with. Paul points this idea to Christ by saying we’ll be
in union with Christ’s kingdom if we’re in union with his suffering. Suffering
has never surprised God, and he has never sought to shield his children from
the terrors of the world. In fact, Paul says we’re like sheep being slaughtered
all the day long (Romans 8:36, Psalm 44:22).
The chaplain will regularly encounter people who desperately
need compassion and help with their burdens. This is going to cost the chaplain
time and effort at a minimum, but how much more? Chaplains have diverse
opportunities to sacrifice, such as hospital visits, late night phone calls,
deployments, and difficult counselings; if it’s easy, it’s probably cheap, if
it’s hard, you should at least give it a second look. It is not uncommon at all
for chaplains and their teams to relish the memory of difficult deployments,
stating it was where their greatest ministry was done. JC Ryle stated that
religion which costs nothing is worth nothing. What is God calling you to put
on the line for his namesake? What are a few minutes of pain or inconvenience
worth in comparison to an eternity of joy?
Can he have
followed far who has no wound nor scar? ~ Amy Carmichael
Key Verse: The Spirit himself bears witness with our
spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God
and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may
also be glorified with him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present
time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. ~
Romans 8:16-18
More:
1. In the counseling room I hear regularly, “I know God wants
me to be safe!” or “The most important thing is my (or their) safety.” I asked
a bunch of fifth-graders, “What’s the most important thing in baseball?” Their
unanimous answer was, “Be safe!” Where are we getting this idea? It’s not from
the Bible, which emphasizes walking by faith and not by sight. If Paul was
willing to give up even his own salvation for others (Romans 9:3), which risks
ought we be taking and price ought we be paying for our neighbors?
2. Hanging on the wall in multiple Intelligence Centers is the
quote in some shape or form, “Safety is Not First, Security is First.” A parody
says, “Coffee is First, Safety is Like Third or Fourth.” If you were to hang a
poster in your chapel or church, what would it say? Might I suggest, “Salvation
First, Sanctification Second, Safety When I Get to Heaven.” Or “Christ first,
others second, me last.”
3. A healthy understanding of martyrs in history is sure to
show a very unsafe world and calling. If you haven’t considered them, I
recommend looking at the lives of men like Jim Elliot, women like Amy
Carmichael, preachers like Thomas Cranmer, and reformers like Martin Luther and
John Calvin. The risks they took were immense, but the rewards belong to them
and Christ for eternity. Do you think they’d regret any of those risks?
4. Further Reading:
Carmichael,
Amy. Gold Cord: The Story of Fellowship. Fort Washington, PA: Christian
Literature Crusade, 1983.
Fox, John. Fox’s
Book of Martyrs: A History of the Lives, Sufferings, and Deaths of the Early Christian
and Protestant Martyrs. Edited by William Byron Forbush. Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 1978.
Papa, Matt. “Stay
Away from Jesus.” On This Changes Everything. Love Your Enemies
Publishing, 2011.
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