What Do We Gain By Suffering And Dying?  

Good Morning Friends,

When I was seven years old my older sister, who was a High School Cheerleader, brought the team over to our ranch-style home in southern Illinois. It was after one of their practices and they all plopped themselves in front of the fireplace on the floor. They were complaining about all sorts of things from pains in their necks, to relationships, and difficulty in getting a good hairstylist. I tried to comfort them as best I could for that was my nature even then by giving them back rubs and smiling, but their complaining continued. Finally, I became a bit frustrated with them and I blurted out loudly, “Well then, Just Suffer.” And to this they began to look at one another and echo my words. A week later my sister came up to me and said that the whole school was telling people to “Suffer.” The word had become the default response. The thing is that for the most part we do not like to hear complaints. And we do not like to talk about dying either for death and suffering are related experiences in our minds. Interestingly Peter rebuked Jesus when Jesus talked about the reality of death. Jesus put him straight, so perhaps there is something for us to learn about this inevitable event that can help is to make more of the time we have left on this side of the veil and appreciate the tribulations of life. I am not suggesting that it is ok to want to die. Really that is a bit crazy. But I do think that Paul knew some things about death that takes the sting out of the event that we need to hear. Suffering and death are not presented in a negative light in scripture for the Christian. And this brings us to the question. What Do We Gain By Suffering And Dying?  

Scripture: I want you to know, beloved that what has happened to me has actually helped to spread the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to everyone else that my imprisonment is for Christ; and most of the brothers and sisters, having been made confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, dare to speak the word with greater boldness and without fear. Some proclaim Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill. These proclaim Christ out of love, knowing that I have been put here for the defense of the gospel; the others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but intending to increase my suffering in my imprisonment. What does it matter? Just this, that Christ is proclaimed in every way, whether out of false motives or true; and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance. It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be put to shame in any way, but that by my speaking with all boldness, Christ will be exalted now as always in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel, and are in no way intimidated by your opponents. For them this is evidence of their destruction, but of your salvation. And this is God’s doing.

Philippians 1:12-21; 27-28 (NRSV)

And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life.

Romans 5: 3-10 (NRSV)

In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going.”

John 14:2-4 (NRSV)

But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” Fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And as for what you sow, you do not sow the body that is to be, but a bare seed, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. Not all flesh is alike, but there is one flesh for human beings, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. There are both heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one thing, and that of the earthly is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; indeed, star differs from star in glory. So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body. Thus it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first, but the physical, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; and as is the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven. What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

1 Corinthians 15:35-58 (NRSV)

Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he had made him a long robe with sleeves. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him. Now his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem. And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” He answered, “Here I am.” The man said, “They have gone away, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers, and found them at Dothan. They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them, they conspired to kill him. They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; then we shall say that a wild animal has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams.” But when Reuben heard it, he delivered him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him” —that he might rescue him out of their hand and restore him to his father. So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the long robe with sleeves that he wore; and they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it. Then they sat down to eat; and looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying gum, balm, and resin, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers agreed. When some Midianite traders passed by, they drew Joseph up, lifting him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.

Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28a (NRSV)

Message: Today’s text sets a surprising premise that dying is better than living and a related one in the story of Joseph that God can use evil for good. But if we understand the scripture properly, we might just realize that God has always been going before us to prepare a place and future for us and in response we are to make room for God in our hearts now. And if Jesus gives us the same size room in heaven as we gave him on earth in our hearts, we might well in our souls consider spending more time making room for God in our lives. Scripture tells us that dying is better than living because we gain a better home. The Bible calls this better home heaven. And though we do not know everything about heaven we do know that it is to be pretty exciting. In the book of Revelation in the Bible it says that in heaven there will be no more sorrow, tears, pain, or death. In heaven there will be no more night. In heaven there will be no evil, and we will be with God forever. You see we have an inheritance in Christ that will outlast any earthly inheritance and in fact will never run out. So too in death we will gain a resurrected body that is sown in a physical body but raised in a spiritual body that will last forever. And we will have a better fellowship in death as well for no one loves us like Jesus loves us. But today’s message is also about the pain and suffering we experience now and no it is not simple, for sometimes God uses people to help other people in their pain and sometimes pain is used to prepare us for something better. Sometimes pain opens doors of opportunity that we would never have walked through otherwise.  A classic example of God using man’s evil/inflicted pain for good is of Joseph being sold into slavery. Joseph’s brothers abandoned him, but God never did. Another example is of Jesus on the cross. Both have surprising outcomes. Friends, sometimes God will use our lives to rescue others even though we do not see God in the experience at the time. Of course, one of the biggest challenges to understanding God can be our own experiences with pain and suffering. These hurts may stem from a long list of encounters. Eventually we all hurt. At times, the hurt is met with comfort and at others our cries for help seem to go unanswered, testing our faith. The main problem is our perspective. We are not God. The story of Job makes that particularly clear in its honest look at the issue of pain. Here we might just discover that the greatest pain is feeling that God has abandoned us. Gone to another land as it were. But here we might just discover that there is a hidden purpose in our suffering as well. Here we might just discover that a good way to help forget our troubles is to help others out of theirs. Job had to wait. So too Joseph waited for his time in power. Jesus waited for His time to be fulfilled. Friends, what man meant for evil…what the devil designed… God can use for good…what man uses for harm, what the devil would use to destroy us… God can use it for His glory. It is the story of the vineyard. It is the story of Jesus on the cross. Harvest time is coming friends.

And So, Paul who was a Pharisee and unlike the Sadducees believed in life after death, tells us that when we suffer, we are to rejoice and that is like telling us that to die is gain. It is not about a “grin and bear it” attitude or a death wish. It is the insight gained from the experience and a belief that God is Sovereign and loves us. People I have known that were facing suffering and death often surprised me in how comfortable they are with the situation and how even the suffering was seen as an experience that they would not have chosen but having experienced it would not have traded it in for something else. Paul’s thinking is that in Christ we gain a better home, a better body, a better inheritance and a better fellowship that makes it all to God’s Glory. And in suffering we are to gainperseverance, character and a hope that does not disappoint. We are to even realize that what we thought was disappointment can become God’s appointment. So, ultimately, we will not be satisfied with the wrong harvest. We are to bear fruit even when it is out of season. We are to bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit with love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, and self-control. And the seed must die before this can happen. The focus of many people has been to acquire wealth and property and enjoy worldly pleasures thinking that is all there is. Perhaps in the future we can have more outward actions that result in a healthier inward condition of our hearts. We are to prepare for a time of being fruitful for through endurance comes a harvest of joy.  We need God’s help to produce fruit in life and in death. No sin, no self, no Satan but life in Christ. That is the goal. And we have the hope that God is producing the image of Christ in us right now. That’s a great thing! And this hope is a certainty, not just a possibility. We are being changed. We see ourselves changing. We are becoming more like Jesus. Hopefully we can see that we are becoming more thoughtful, more compassionate, more loving, more mellow. We are to become like Christ — stronger, wiser, purer, more patient. To our amazement, a certainty grows in our hearts that God is doing his work just as he promised. He is transforming us into the image of his Son. Something that lives on.

Pray that we begin with love realizing that suffering helps us to share the Gospel. Pray we choose the joy of Christ in the face of pain. Pray we realize that God may even be rescuing others through our pain. Pray that in our interactions with others our love is genuine. Pray that we are aware of those who hurt and understand the nature of their pain. Pray therefore for those in broken homes. Pray for those who are lonely, feeling unwanted. Pray that our faith makes us whole. Pray that the plight of others disturbs us. Pray that we believe that sometimes our faith can contribute to another’s health. Pray that we are willing to show that we care. Pray that we never minimize another’s pain. Pray that we realize that the little pain we are in may be there to keep us from experiencing even greater pain. Pray we do not get disillusioned when things do not work out as we planned. Pray that we know the importance of being sincere, considerate, prayerfully patient, and understanding when we are confronted with pain and those who have it. Pray that we are encouraged by God in the reality of life and death and that God thoroughly knows the hurt and the agony and the pain we go through. Pray that we thank God for not trying to make it look any different than it is but nevertheless assures and reassures us that we are being loved through it all and that as we are being tested, we are also being developed and made into something we need to be and ultimately will want very badly. Pray that we are thankful that through the pressure and testing we have a deep sense of joy that keeps us strong and even rejoicing in the hope of a future that is with Jesus. Pray we realize that wherever Jesus is so too is heaven. Pray we realize that the seed must die before the plant can grow and produce fruit. Pray that we realize that even though our bodies in death may nourish nature our hope of true glory is in Christ.

Blessings,

John Lawson