I now rejoice in my
sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions
of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church (Colossians
1:24)
You have to wonder: What could possibly be
LACKING in the afflictions, the "sufferings" of
Christ? He was offered once to bear the sins of many
(Hebrews 9:28) and He has, in his suffering, done what none of us could do He
died for your sins and mine. We were sinners without hope and He is the Remedy
for our sins, our certain hope. We have failed utterly, but He has made us right
with God. What could anybody possibly add to that?
The answer is, of course: nothing! and yet,
in His love, we are enabled in our flesh to fill
up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ,
and the key to all of it is in our verse for today: He has left this earth, and
yet He has not left us alone. We are given His Holy Spirit, to lead us and guide
us and direct us in God's great love. And we are amazingly given each other.
We begin to act as He did, for
the sake of His body, which is the church (Colossians 1:24). Every time
we do something that helps somebody else, and miss our favorite television show
to do it, it is another small, but significant example of filling up what
is lacking in the afflictions of Christ (Colossians 1:24). Jesus Christ
has taken care of the big need the door to salvation has been opened on His
cross; but many in our day need to learn of Him, to see in OUR lives that 1) WE
really are changed by Him, and 2) THEY can be, too.
When I teach the Bible in a convalescent
home, I speak to a group of men and women and some, from appearances, may or may
not be listening. It is unclear whether all are actually awake during the study.
But over the years as I have taught, I have learned that reality is greater than
appearances, for it is not human teachers who do the work, but it is the Spirit
of God who is in both us and our listeners. I taught at one such facility for
five years and met a lot of interesting people: a retired doctor, a retired
priest, a retired musician and more. There was an interesting little lady who
seemingly played with blocks during the Bible studies. I felt, as the staff did,
that she was not listening, and a staff member told me that indeed the lady was
deaf and couldnt hear
anything anyway.
Then one day, as I walked around the room
during the study, I noticed that her efforts involved more than just alphabet
blocks laid out in a row. They spelled words! Actual words that interestingly
had been specifically emphasized within the study for that day! Words like love
sin forgive and so
on, were carefully spelled out using those blocks. At some level she heard,
understood and processed the information, at least as well as the others who
were in attendance. She heard because the Spirit made it so.
To fill up in
(our) flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ
(Colossians 1:24) is much the same as the words Jesus spoke, when He urged each
of us to: deny (your) self
and take up
(your) cross daily and follow Him (Luke 9:23). We
are to give up something of ourselves, which includes our motives, our goals,
our time and money, AS LED by the Spirit of God, and share those resources with
others. And we are not to gauge our effectiveness on the responses of those who
are supposed to benefit from our actions. We simply respond to God and do what
needs to be done.
The classic example of filling up what
is lacking in the afflictions of Christ is Paul the Apostle, who wrote
our Scripture for today. He had the education, training, drive, reputation,
status and circumstances that could have made him a great man among the Jews. He
could have become a Rabban, which is to say, a
great rabbi, who would have been read and listened to by the Jews, right to this
very day. But when Christ appeared to the man, spoke to him and changed him
inside (Acts Chapter 9), Paul (who had been called Saul)
lost what he had in this world, but in doing so, he gained infinitely in
another.
And it wasnt just about him. He said I
now rejoice in my sufferings and the reason is found in our verse for
today: My sufferings are for you, he said. His
sufferings led to the salvation of many Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians,
Romans, Americans, Canadians, Russians, Chinese, Africans people all over the
world have come to Christ because of the words and the sufferings of Paul the
Apostle. Would he have written his letters that have benefited so many if he had
not suffered in the way he did? Probably not, though God always is able to find
another way. Certainly, sufferings DEEPEN a person and make them able to
understand the needs of others like no other way possible. Paul was in prison at
the time he wrote what are called the prison epistles, which includes the
letter to the Colossians. He not only had the understanding, but he also was
given the TIME needed to write. He no longer had to be a tentmaker, which was
his previous profession, because God had blessed him by making him a prisoner.
He was whipped by the Jews five times; he was beaten
with rods, stoned, shipwrecked three times, threatened by robbers; in
perils everywhere. He knew the trauma of false brothers
in Christ, had been tired beyond measure, went without sleep, was hungry and
thirsty, and the Lord used all this to give him a deep
concern for the churches (2 Corinthians 11:23-28). He gained
understanding of and concern for the needs of others through his own suffering.
We send out requests to our Prayer Team
each week, and a current one is especially interesting in relation to our sermon
for today. It says, Father, Billie, who is in her 80's,
gets really TIRED. She is like Grace, who is in her 90s. Both of them reach out
and help others. Please continue to give both of these ladies the energy to do
what must be done. And bless them for what they do. In Jesus Name. Amen.
BOTH of these ladies, Billie and Grace, have been learning the suffering that
comes simply from getting older. And both of them reach out to others who suffer
in a similar manner. And thats precisely what filling up what
is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body is all
about. You and I may not always understand it, but the sufferings of life enable
us to reach out and comfort others; to LOVE them with true understanding. And
our sufferings are intended to help them in their greatest need that they may
come to the Lord Jesus Christ and receive the greatest gift which is eternal
life. Lets pray:
Father, we do not seek suffering, we
seek You; but if we do find suffering in life, let it be used to reach out and
comfort others, as led by the Spirit of God, for the sake
of His body, which is the church. Let us help one another in Christ. In
Jesus Name. Amen.
