Suffering for Righteousness' Sake (Matt 5:10)

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven - Matthew 5:10

Anyone who chooses to attempt to live a righteous life in this world will inevitably attract persecution to themselves.

This does not just include (nor even primarily include) persecution at the hands of other human beings, but rather persecution of the world, the devil, and our own flesh.

Anyone who seeks to live for Christ is going to suffer periods of hunger, exhaustion, discomfort, intimidation, uncertainty, and spiritual attack, quite separate from the behavior of other human beings.

Suffering in the flesh is not only part of Christianity, it is its very foundation. Our salvation was wrought by none other than the suffering of Christ's flesh on the Cross. And He told us, "if you want to be my disciple, you must deny yourself, bear your cross, and follow me."

Many modern western Christians are under the impression that following Christ means a life free from suffering. While this is a very dangerous and false teaching, it does contain a seed of truth that we must be careful not to overlook.

The seed of truth is this: While suffering outside of Christ and suffering inside of Christ can truly both be considered suffering, they are nonetheless qualitatively different from one another. They are so different that at times their resemblance is practically unrecognizable.

Following Christ is about crucifying the desires of the flesh in order to live according to the desires of the spirit. Of course this process is going to be painful to the flesh. It is literally designed to be. Yet the more our identity shifts to the spirit, the less painful that suffering becomes.

For example, if you are fasting and all you're thinking about is food, you are going to be extremely uncomfortable. However, if instead of focusing on food you are praying, worshiping, and seeking God's will, in many cases not only will you forget about your hunger, but you will begin to experience a deeper satisfaction from within your soul.

This is because you are shifting your consciousness from the flesh (which is being starved) to the spirit (which is being fed).

Suffering in the flesh is an inevitable and necessary part of entering the Kingdom of God (see Acts 14:22, Rom 8:17, 2 Cor 4:17 and many more ). If a Christian is not willing to suffer in the flesh for the sake of Christ, then perhaps they did not understand what they were signing up for when they became a Christian. Either we embrace this suffering head-on at the appointed time, or else we 'obligate' God (due to His desire for our sanctification) to bring about its required effect through some other inferior means.

This is similar to the recalculation feature on a GPS - we can ignore many of its instructions and still get to our destination, but it's in our best interest to just do what it says from the start.

As one Desert Father remarked in the 4th century,

He who does not choose to suffer for the sake of truth will be chastened more painfully by suffering he has not chosen.

Of course we cannot assume that all of a person's "unchosen" suffering is a result of an unwillingness to suffer for the sake of truth on their part (see the book of Job), but we can be certain that anyone who consistently chooses to take the easy way out will inevitably suffer the consequences.

However, here is where we must make the most important point of all:

Crucifixion is not the end of this story.

If it was, then Christianity would be nothing more than a slightly improved version of Stoicism. No, Christianity is far more.

Crucifixion is not where the Christian's life ends. Crucifixion is where it begins.

After crucifixion comes resurrection.

And resurrection not only follows crucifixion – it in a real sense undoes it. All the pain and suffering of crucifixion is not merely healed – it becomes the very fuel that sets ablaze the fire of God’s glory in the soul of the one who endures it.

Once one tastes the glory of the Resurrected Christ, he is willing and able to endure any sort of suffering that God may permit to come His way. Not because he is masochistic or strong in himself, but because he knows through experience, as did Paul, that this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.

My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.

Proverbs 3:11-12