Today's Lesson from Colossians 1 verse 24:
"Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church."
What an extraordinary statement. Paul - shipwrecked, beaten with rods, pelted with stones, lost at sea, constantly in danger from rivers and robbers - rejoices in all his sufferings because he says they help complete whatever was lacking in Christ's own sufferings.
Christ's sufferings lacking? This would be heresy if it wasn't in the Bible; but here it is. We don't just accept Christ's sufferings on our behalf. For whatever reason, God has so ordained things that Christ's followers must share in Christ's sufferings also. This is a necessary condition for taking part in His body.
Perhaps Augustine put it clearly when he said, "Without God we cannot; but without us God will not." To belong to Christ's body, the church, is to share in His afflictions. We can't be under any delusions about this. Suffering, struggle, sacrifice - it comes with the territory. We must learn to embrace these things and even rejoice in them, just as Paul did. If we don't we're in for a long and bitter journey.
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