Knowing Jesus Requires the Fellowship of Suffering
Photo by Edward Cisneros on Unsplash
That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, – Philippians 3:10
I sat across from my husband in a quiet restaurant. We said little. Our tear-streaked faces burned with the results of my ultrasound—my womb was a grave. In the morning, they would induce labor. My firstborn would be stillborn. I carried our daughter for 26 weeks, but we would come home from the hospital with empty arms. Empty arms and broken hearts. Together we wept our “Why?!” to the Lord. Through our laments, we found our Father faithful, patient, and kind. The Lord granted us a small taste of His great suffering.
We didn’t choose to give up our child. Yet that’s exactly what God the Father did for us. And as difficult as it was, Christ cooperated with his Father’s plan. Jesus willingly died for us. “No one takes it (my life) from Me, but I lay it down of Myself” (John 10:18a). What are we willing to die for?
Jesus told His disciples in so many ways that to live, they must die. “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23) “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.” (John 12:24)
Jesus was a man of sorrow, acquainted with grief (Isaiah 53:3). From His virgin birth to his crucifixion, He experienced every aspect of human suffering: misunderstanding, slander, rejection, even grief. Then he endured the Cross: the searing torture of whips lashed against his flesh, the puncture of spikes through his wrists and ankles, the excruciating suffocation of crucifixion.
A real relationship with God cannot be had by casual comers and goers who want only blessings and refuse burdens. God makes no casual acquaintances. The invitation to know Him bids us come and die.
Finding things to live for is easy. People live seeking power, fame, fortune, and comfort. Some live to please others. But Christ laid aside His glory and laid down His life to rescue us. And He invites us to follow Him into loving others.
“This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you” (John 15:12 – 14). Clint Antholz, a wise associate pastor at my church, once said, “The more we deviate from God’s word in practice and attitude, the less we love others.”
Forty-two years have passed since my husband and I buried our firstborn. Yesterday we stood with a young couple as they buried their first baby. Their loss opened a door for us to share the comfort we received decades ago. God never sends trials to harm us. He uses suffering to shape us into Christ’s likeness. Without sorrow, it’s impossible to know the joy of the resurrection.
It’s a lesson Jesus taught Mary and Martha: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.” (John 11:25) It’s a lesson He teaches all His disciples. We choose how we suffer. We can strain against the bit and grow bitter, or we can lament and lean hard on His everlasting arms and grow in the grace and knowledge of Him.
Questions for Reflection:
1. What suffering has the Lord brought you through?
2. How have you used the comfort you found in Him to comfort others (2 Corinthians 1:3–4)?
