Suffering With Eyes Upon Glory

Alan Redpath once wrote “there is no victory without a fight, and there is no battle without wounds.” The genuine Christian life is marked with suffering and is a guarantee of living in a fallen world. Suffering is a constant in this life, whether for the believer or the nonbeliever. But what kind of suffering was Paul referring to in Romans 8:18? After Paul wrote that suffering with Christ will result in glorification in verse 17, he wrote that “for I considered the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” Only a person transformed by the Spirit of Christ can fully comprehend this statement from Paul, because who else is going to embrace the suffering of this present time with joy. The majority of Christians, especially American Christians, do everything in their power to avoid persecution and suffering. But did Peter not exhort us “therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind…”(1 Peter 4:1)? Peter is saying that we are to have the same mind, attitude, and perspective as Jesus did towards the suffering He endured. Christians are to endure suffering while looking beyond the present time to the glory of their eternal riches. Without hope of eternal life in heaven a person has no real hope. Now that is true hopelessness.

God uses Peter to distinguish between righteous and unrighteous suffering in 1 Peter 4:15, as Peter lists the sins of men which cause everyone to suffer. Sins such as murder, stealing, doing evil, and being a busybody. However in verse 16 Peter says “Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.” God uses suffering for His children to purify, sanctify, and prepare us to accomplish His purposes and with the guaranteed gift of the “glory which shall be revealed in us” how can we not abandon all for the advancement of the gospel.

As followers to “live is Christ” and any suffering we experience by living in obedience to God’s word is considered an honor. Nonetheless, we also know that “to die is gain” and that is why we “consider the sufferings of this present time as not worthy to be compared to the glory” we will experience if we perish on this earth because of our suffering for Christ.