The Ministry of Crying Part 2

Last time I shared with you the value suffering has in the life of a believer.  Simply put,

"Suffering is the currency that buys intimacy with God."

"Wait a minute", you might be saying.  "I want to draw closer to God and I am prepared to suffer for the Lord here and there, but are you telling me that I cannot grow in intimacy with Jesus unless I am CONSTANTLY suffering?"  Well, yes I am.  And no, I'm not.

To my original saying I would like to add these important words,

"It doesn't have to be your suffering."

You see the fellowship a believer has with the Lord is not exclusive.  It is a fellowship shared with all believers.  This is how John can write,"We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ."

You see fellowship with the Father is also fellowship with his people and fellowship with his people is fellowship with the Son, etc, etc, etc.  This is how you can "rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed." I Peter4:13.  

As we "mourn with those who mourn" we fellowship with the Lord and with his body.  As we enter into the suffering of others through intercession and participation, we grown in intimacy with the Lord. 

So don't insulate yourself from the suffering of the world.  Embrace it.  Pray for those in pain, as if the pain is yours, because in the body, it is. 

The Ministry of Crying, Part 1

As a general rule I don't like to cry.  I much prefer to laugh.  Laughing is fun, enjoyable, and contagious.  Everyone likes it.  Yet, for several years now, God has been teaching me to cry.  He's been directing me to weep, mourn, and grieve as I fellowship with him.  Here's how it began.

I spent ten dark years seeking God for a child.  I was like Hannah whose sorrow was so great that as she cried out to God no sound came from her lips.  Though, unlike Hannah, many sounds came from deep within me as I struggled through the many emotions of unfulfilled desire: rejection, self-loathing, abandonment, loneliness and the theological implications of it all.  It was a difficult time in my life, to say the least.

But, as so often happens, out of great suffering came glory.  God used this time to challenge and correct  misconceptions I had about him, myself, the world, prayer, etc. etc. etc.  It became a abundant time of learning and drawing near to God.  It became a time of great intimacy.  From it God gave me this great truth:

"Suffering is the currency that buys you intimacy with God."


This is more than my personal experience.  It is a Biblical and historical pattern. The Apostle Paul testifies, "I want to know him, the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings."  In Romans 8:17 he adds, "Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." If you look up the word "suffering you will find many Pauline passages that mirror these words.  He willingly endured hardship and pain, yes, for the sake of the gospel, but also to fellowship with Christ.

Recently, I read an account of a former Muslim believer who was imprisoned for more than two years in a metal shipping container in the Assab, a port town on the Red Sea.  Heat indexes reached 140 degrees.  He was fed very little and given only a small cup of water a day.  When asked how he was able to bear such suffering his response was, "Never have I felt so close to Jesus as when he was with me in prison."*

Why are we surprised at the rich fellowship that suffering produces?  After all, we serve a suffering servant.  Jesus life and death were both marked by great suffering.  He never ran from grief or pain, but embraced it fully.  Yes, on the cross, but also at Lazarus' tomb, in his family, his town, with his people. He experienced all the same reasons for suffering we do: loss, rejection, poverty, betrayal.  And many more most of us have yet to experience: persecution, an unjust trial and public execution.

Many believers desire greater intimacy with our Lord, but are unwilling to meet him in the place of suffering.  Who of us would abandon a spouse diagnosed with cancer, or a child wounded in a terrible accident?  Would we not rather embrace them, draw near to them, and stand by them.  This and much more is exactly what our Jesus does when we are the ones with the bad report, the one who's lost a loved one, or experienced rejection or betrayal.  He offers us his very presence, his companionship, his intimate fellowship.  Does it make sense to turn it down?

And so I encourage you, don't run from the tough, the difficult, and the painful.  Run into the arms of he who is familiar with suffering and pain. What you will find there will there will eclipse your suffering and transform your perspective.

But wait, there's more.  Don't forget to check back for Part 2.

*Live Dead Journal: 30 Days of Prayer for Unreached Peoples, 30 Days of Challenge 

Relevant or Counter-Cultural

Yesterday, as I talked with a friend the questions came up, "should the church be relevant or counter-cultural?"  Wow!  What a big question!

Of course, much has been written on both sides of the issue for many years. Each side has its proponents and detractors.  The divide between them can at times seem as the American church's own demilitarized zone in which each side lives in idealogical safety, periodically lobbing bombs across to the obviously deluded.

The question itself is the problem, since it allows for only one answer.  The Biblical mandate is for the church to be both relevant and counter-cultural.  Jesus exemplified this dynamic in his life and teaching.  He preached the gospel of the kingdom in such a way that people could "relate" to it.  He used analogies and parables from their everyday life and experiences, making deep spiritual truths "relevant".

At the same time he called for an ethic beyond their current culture.  He called his followers to love their enemies, choose service over position, and embrace a standard of righteousness greater than that of the Pharisees.  He walked a path marked by such extreme counter-culture, that at the end of his life, he had almost no one who remained by his side.  

How do we, as the people of God, live out this same dynamic today?  The answer is in the gospel itself, which calls us to take up our cross daily and follow our Lord.  You see, without a crucified life, one quickly moves from counter-culture to self-righteousness.  Without the cross, being relevant can become being comprising.  Both of these pitfalls are covered over with the lure of self-interest, self-protection, and self-pride.  The cross, praise Jesus, is a trully effective method to kill self.  

The answer to the question of what parts of a culture the church should relate to and what part it should counter is, no pun intended, relative.  It all depends on the cultural element in question.  But before we run to our side of the zone and pick up our weapons, let us instead run to the Lord and pick up His cross.  From here we see Him, the gospel, people, and ourselves much more clearly, avoid pitfalls and, by His grace, walk in His ways.  

Get It In Writing

Genesis 15 tells the account of Abram cutting covenant with God. God made him a promise and Abram said, “how canI know it’s really going to happen?” God’s response would be the modern equivalent of saying, “I’ll put it in writing.”

He used the then method of committing to something: he made a covenant. Today we would write up a contract and sign it. A contract signifies obligation. The person is obligated to keep their commitment under legal penalties. Of course, there is no one greater than God, who can force him to keep his commitment. So says in Hebrews 6:13, “When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself.”

God reassured Abram by sealing his commitment in a culturally appropriate manner, he cut covenant. Today we have the written Word of God. What promise of God do you need reassurance of today? Look it up. He’s put it in writing.