Our participation in the sufferings of Christ is a curious phrase that pops up in the New Testament in various places (Philemon 3:10, 1 Peter 4:13, Romans 8:17 and Colossians 1:24). What does it mean? Well, obviously, something in it is about voluntarily giving up our own time and wealth for people who need it, because our lives are about imitating Jesus, who gave up everything to meet us in our need.
But have you ever considered that there’s also something about evangelism in it? When we go out in the name of Jesus into a culture that is often hostile – or misunderstands us or maligns us – we’re suffering with Jesus, as we suffer for him. The Bible insists that that is always a blessed thing. At the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5) in the last of the Beatitudes, Jesus says, “Blessed are you when men curse you for my sake”. It’s considered a blessing. When the first Christians were persecuted in Acts, they said that they counted it as a privilege to be counted worthy of suffering for the name. Equally when Saul was persecuting the church and had that definitive encounter with the risen Christ on the road to Damascus the words he heard were “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”. He didn’t hear, “why do persecute them?”, because the persecuted church were sharing in his sufferings in a mysterious, but wonderful way. Our afflictions in the West are minor and trivial, but think for a moment of those in parts of the world where believers suffer extreme hardships for Christ – and with Christ.
It’s a strange one, but isn’t that a wonderful motivation for us to go forward in evangelism in a hostile culture that pushes back against us?
When people object to the gospel, or ostracise or marginalise us, Christ tells us that we are blessed for standing with him. When we go forward in evangelism – particularly when it doesn’t go well – we are blessed because we are counted worthy of suffering for the name. We might take reputational damage or lose friends. We might be shunned. We might be pushed away, but Jesus says, count it all as a blessing, because we are following in his footsteps, the suffering Christ. We get to participate in his sufferings. A privatised, self-focused faith simply does not bring this kind of blessing.
Prayer: Forgive me, Lord, for caring more about my reputation than yours. Help me to speak out for you, even when it is unpopular to do so. Help me endure the cost of evangelism, as an experience of partnership in your suffering. Amen
