The Cost of Christlikeness

Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your word.
It is good for me that I was afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes.
I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are righteous,
And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.
(Psalm 119:67, 71, 75 NASB)

In my previous blog entry I spoke from Romans 8:28-30 on how God works all things for His children to become like Jesus in their character.

As I thought about this, it seems to me that two questions or issues immediately arise from this assertion:

• What about those who do not ‘love God’ and are not ‘called according to His purpose’? (from Romans 8:28)
  
• What will it cost me to fully participate in God’s purpose for my life?
  

In short, I believe the common answer for both is joyfully submitting to God’s Lordship in their lives, that is, His absolute control over all things. Let me explain:

• For the unbeliever, we see God’s goodness to all people in creation (Acts 14:17), and that He has orchestrated all things so that people would seek Him and fear Him (Acts 17:26-27, Ecclesiastes 3:14). In other words, He provides and determines where people will live for this very purpose.
• For the believer, God brings circumstances into our lives which we would otherwise reject if we did not know they were necessary for our growth in Christ.
  

It is on this second point where I would like to dwell for a few moments today. It’s a topic that you don’t often hear in social gatherings: suffering.

The worldwide trend is for followers of Christ to suffer in ever increasing and horrific ways. You can look at Voice of the Martyrs and Barnabas Fund to find out more about what is going on in the world right now with regard to suffering Christians.

For us in the ‘safe’ United States, it may hit us a bit differently for the time being. I am reminded that sometimes suffering is obvious, but often it is under the surface.

Which brings me, finally, to the Scripture I opened with today, Psalm 119:67, 71, 75.

Do you see God’s protection in your present difficulties? His goodness? His faithfulness?

I’m reminded of some wisdom from our brother Martin Luther (1483 - 1546) on the subject, seeing suffering as necessary:

• 'If I live longer, I would like to write a book about Anfechtungen*, for without them no man can understand Scripture, faith, the fear, or the love of God. He does not know the meaning of hope who was never subject to temptations.’ (Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther, by Roland Bainton, p. 283)
• "I want you to know how to study theology in the right way. I have practiced this method myself ... Here you will find three rules. They are frequently proposed throughout Psalm [119] and run thus: Oration, meditatio, tentatio (Prayer, meditation, trial).’ (What Luther Says: An Anthology, Vol. 3, p. 1359)
• He called Anfechtungen the "touchstone." "[They] teach you not only to know and understand but also to experience how right, how true, how sweet, how lovely, how mighty, how comforting God's word is: it is wisdom supreme.” (What Luther Says: An Anthology, Vol. 3, p. 1360)
  

*Anfechtungen means ‘all the doubt, turmoil, pang, tremor, panic, despair, desolation, and desperation which invade the spirit of man.’ (Bainton, p.31)

Considering our brethren around the world who are suffering for Christ, it’s amazing to me to realize that there are people who are being imprisoned and tortured today who have more joy in Christ and a higher level of contentment right now than you and I have in our relative comfort! May we see and experience Christ as they do in our present circumstances.

I’ve received help recently in this area through a couple of messages from the Desiring God Pastors’ Conference which you can access here:

• The Role of Suffering in Sanctification, Eric Mason
• The Powerful Sin-Killing Power of Christian Hedonism, Sam Storms
  

O for grace to embrace from God the things we so often reject!

In His Grip,

Mark