Comfort and Suffering

This morning I was reading through Paul's second letter to the Corinthians.  These verses are another set that rarely get preached in church, and should cause us to stop and evaluate our expectations about our lives as Christians.  Paul writes the following - 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 NIV:

[3] "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, [4] who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. [5] For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. [6] If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. [7] And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort."

The couple of things that are just uncomfortable to hear about are our sharing "abundantly in the sufferings of Christ" and sharing in their (Paul's) own sufferings.  I don't know about you, but I really prefer a life with little or no suffering, and sharing abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, doesn't sound like that.  My rationalization is that Paul was speaking primarily about him and his companions and that he couldn't be referring to all of us.  This certainly sounds good to me, but I think it is incorrect.

When you look back at the sufferings that Paul and his companions endured, the vast majority of them were directly related to persecutions they were experiencing because of their faith and following of Jesus. In fact, Jesus warned His disciples about this very thing (Luke 21:12-19).  There is no doubt that many of the sufferings of Paul were due to his willing obedience and ministry.  Paul was not afraid of persecution, standing for His faith, or explaining his faith to unbelieving and even at times hostile groups.  He recognized the reality of the times they lived in, and saw his endurance in the face of persecution something that would help others going through the same.

In our present day culture which is quickly departing from Christian values and morals, as Christians, we will once again be faced with similar persecutions. So let us set our hearts and encourage one another, recognizing that in these environments Christianity has flourished, and will continue to flourish.

We will learn the comfort of God in all our troubles.  His comfort, His favor, His blessings will continue to be poured forth upon us, and His kingdom will continue to increase.  So let us not be surprised or discouraged if we are being persecuted individually or as a group, for Jesus experienced all and still had joy set before Him.

Amen.