Suffering Matters: Colossians 1:24-29
Last week we talked about how Jesus IS the image of God
This week we talk about another key image, specifically of the Gospel
One of the biggest factors of how we experience reality, life, is expectations.
ILL: Studies of athletes expectation and PED’s.
Expectations matter, they are what we believe about the pill we have swallowed.
I bring this up today because as a pastor I have found everyone brings expectations into faith
At times, this can have a negative affect, have had people get really frustrated with faith or church because
It didn’t fix their marriage, heal their body, right business, change kids, find spouse, fulfill career, agree with their way of living, solve their problems.
Now I believe the gospel and faith can do all all the above and do them well
However, the path comes with a reality that most people don’t expect and many people choose to abandon.
Because the path to what is most important in your life, must, come through our topic today: suffering.
This is not my favorite topic, no one wants to suffer, let alone see those they love suffer.
But as we will see today, Jesus invites us to see suffering in a radically different way
GOD: Colossians 1:24-29
24 Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. 25 I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— 26 the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. 27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. 29 To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.
Now I cannot pretend to fathom why some people suffer certain things and other don’t
Or especially why some really painful and unjust things happen to innocent people
I do not think God is in heaven scheming on how you will suffer or who deserves what But I do know some of our
prayers about suffering, while not unheard, seem to go unanswered, at times or this side of heaven
Also, I know suffering does a few very important things in our life: give it purpose, meaning, it matters.
1. Our Suffering re-presents Christ’s suffering
ILL: Avatars at work, research shows this actually improves work morale and performance.
Many meetings now are Avatars only, employees prefer the image that the reality.
My PT: What is the image God uses: not what we would expect.
More than anything it is the cross, what was the cross, an instrument of suffering.
Here Paul says in V 24 radically, he can actually rejoice in what he is suffering…
He says…FOR YOU: He is suffering not just for Himself but for others: Those others are the Church.
Those are people who did not know Jesus, who now did, and those still to come to faith.
You see Paul links his suffering directly to spread of the Gospel, people finding eternal life in Jesus.
In Paul’s suffering, the suffering of Jesus, the cross, the gospel is re-presented to a lost world.
Also, Paul directly links his suffering to that of Jesus V24 fill up in my flesh what is lacking in regard to X aff.
This does not mean Pauls or our suffering completed the sacrifice of Jesus, as if it needed a little extra saving pwr.
No, the filling up the lacking is we are extending the presentation of His suffering through our suffering.
And his suffering is present in our suffering,
Our suffering re-presents his saving suffering, and his suffering redeems our suffering.
And this is surprising. This is so entirely opposite of what we often see in the prosperity gospel of the modern era
and we might be tempted to think this was for the apostle Paul or the Christians, but let me just tell you this is for
This is for every Christian and for every person , when we follow Christ when we accept savior,
our suffering becomes baptized along with us and our suffering is sucked into this new paradigm
No matter what your day-to-day adversity trial struggles tiredness: Sickness, stress, anxiety, age, ETC.
But it is translated into something else entirely.
Your suffering is dignified you’re suffering given purpose you’re suffering is given salvation.
Because it is not just through of highs but maybe primarily through the lows that the Gospel is transmitted most
It’s not through our wealth, health, and success, it’s through our faithfulness and trust in suffering.
As people see a follower of Jesus, trust, and rest in peace, joy, and love in the Spirit in the midst of suffering.
There is not a much more powerful message of the Gospel.
2. Suffering brings us to maturity
It’s completes us in maturity, you can’t be complete, mature without it.
Paul was focused on seeing the Church reach maturity, he mentions it several times in this letter.
The be mature means to be whole, complete, lacking nothing, some said the greatest strength is to have no weakness, while when are weak we are strong, in Christ, maturity means the enemy has no foothold in us.
To be mature in Christ readies for anything, all things, nothing can take us down.
It readies us to be at our best now and impact eternity in the hearts of others
Maturing in Christ is about aligning our expectations with God’s will instead of our wishes
And realizing God’s will is actually better than our wishes.
As we do that we grow into the most beautiful and strong version of ourselves possible
We paint of compelling and inspiring picture of God’s suffering, the cross its redemption of all human suffering.
Like I said before the things you want most in life, will have to come through the path of suffering, maturity.
One of the worse things that can happen to a person is instant success, can’t bear the weight.
You think you want to find the special someone: now!! Well, I have news for you first, if God’s has his way, you will face adversity and grow and mature through it, and to have a along and successful marriage will will have to face much adversity and suffering as a couple
It is true for all the things, career, ministry, relationships, all the goals that really matter in your life.
You will never be mature without adversity or suffering, and to not be mature would be to rob you of a gift.
3. In suffering we see and know Jesus more.
ILL: Going to Riceville, family reunion, got to know more of my folks.
When we suffer with this new perspective it’s like visit Jesus’ home town, experience his life, knowing him more.
Suffering is not a waste of my life
Pain and suffering is no joke, and we don’t wake up wishing for it.
But when we have Jesus, truly: we can say: I don’t need to fear suffering, I just need Jesus.
The gospel offers to approach to suffering no where else found.
Most other worldview work to escape, avoid, and just helplessly accept suffering.
The Gospel redeems suffering, and uses it as a paint brush in the hand of God,
Curated the most wondering image of what God can do in a persons life.
Do you think God is uncaring, un loving, inattentive or unwise enough the just allow us to “waste” our life with the suffering, as we often view those parts of our life?
No, He is not. He knows that the times of suffering, translate into something now and eternally, that far outweighs what we think we might be giving up now.
ILL: Draft: trades, we think why the trade, God knows.
How to align my view of suffering with Jesus
Re align your expectation of suffering: I don’t want to suffer, but I won’t fear it, and I look for Jesus in it.
Re align your interpretation of suffering: I won’t view suffering as waste, I will view it as growth.
Re align your presentation of suffering: I will see the re-presentation of Jesus’ suffering in my suffering, and his redemption of my suffering with his suffering.
Maybe you are here today and you fear suffering, or think your suffering is un redeemable, without purpose, as waste of your life. Some of you have faced really difficult pain, suffering, hurt, disappointment in your life.
Today: need you just need to rest your suffering in the loving hands of our suffering savior.