Peace in Suffering

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:1-2)

Usually It would seem appropriate to use a scripture that emphasizes suffering, but in order to communicate the peace and suffering I felt that it was necessary to use this scripture. Paul speaks about one of the purposes of the Christian life, which involves presenting our lives daily as a sacrifice to God. When going into depth on what Paul says, it’s awesome to see that as new creations in Christ the meaning of sacrifice has been redefined, redefined as a living sacrifice. The Greek word for living in this scripture is “zao;A primary verb;To live(Literal or figurative):-life,live(c)Metaphorically, of things, only in part”. Living, lively, active, also enduring, opposed to what is dead inactive, or transient. “Living water” means the water of running streams and fountains, as opposed to that of stagnant cisterns, pools or marshes (Jn4:10). What is key is to know, is that to present our lives as a sacrifice does not mean that they stop and accumulate stagnant decay of any sort, to present yourselves as a living sacrifice involves divinity, more importantly….eternity!

The meaning of sacrifice was redefined at Calvary. And it is no different for suffering, for we know of the suffering that took place at the cross. He Suffered for the joy set before him the salvation of mankind. We were called to bring the peace of the gospel to the world. It is witnessed so beautifully when we suffer for the joy set before us……Jesus and his love for the sick and the lost.

“The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I receive mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life” (1Tim 1:15-16).  Paul was willing to embrace his identity as a sinner because he knew the value of Christ’s forgiveness and love being witnessed to those around him. He was also willing to suffer imprisonment for the sake of bringing others to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We too can embrace the suffering in our lives for the joy set before us, knowing that our suffering is salted with the purpose of The Gospel. The purpose to bring others to the saving knowledge of Christ Jesus and his love so that their lives may be preserved in eternity.

The peace in our suffering is knowing that its purpose is not to take away but to give, not to bring death but inspire life. Our suffering was meant to preserve life, not destroy it, for others as well as ourselves. And when it becomes a struggle, dwell on the instruction in Romans 12:1, “By the mercies of God”. God’s mercies involve everything He’s done by Grace. He parted the Red Sea and The Jordan river, he delivered David from Goliath, most importantly, He sent His only begotten Son to die for us while we were still sinners and that whoever believes in Him will have everlasting life. He has been parting the Red Sea of your life from the beginning of time and has not stopped now. Remembering that will guide you to the peace and suffering.