October 18
/Colossians 1:24-29 / Read
Anyone who is truly a member of God’s family (the “capital C” Church) knows what it is to suffer. Our sufferings can rarely be compared to those that the Apostle Paul underwent, but that is not the point. For each of us, being part of the Church means that we are part of a family and, therefore, give up our rights as individuals for the good of the group.
The Gospel is at the core of Christian suffering. “The word of God in its fullness” - the message that reconciliation and relationship with God are available in Christ not by works, but by faith - is what brought on Paul’s suffering (vv. 25). Yet the Gospel had saved Paul in the first place and was what defined his identity. God had given him everything in Christ - even though he deserved none of it - and his joy was so profound that he chose to become a servant of Jesus and his Church. The Gospel wasn’t just what brought on his suffering; it brought him through his suffering.
To what degree is the message of the Gospel “center stage” in your life? In other words, how much does the Gospel impact your thoughts, emotions and actions?
Spend some time considering all that Jesus faced and endured from his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane to his death on Golgotha. Where is suffering in his story? How does suffering for the Gospel bring us closer to Jesus?
What would it look like for you to live as a servant for the Church (other followers of Jesus)? What challenges or barriers are there in you becoming that sort of person? How will you embrace Jesus’ victory in suffering to experience victory of your own?