Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey him. Heb5:8-9 There is often a desert before one reaches the Promised Land. St. Paul in talking about the Jew who was freed from Egypt, did not know how to suffer in the will of God. Some lusted after evil things, some committed idolatry, some committed fornication, some tempted Christ, and many murmured and complained. None of those people entered Canaan. Contrary to what many may think, doing the will of God does not always bring immediate happiness. What it usually brings is trials and testing in order to grow, or like Jesus, in order to be made perfect. Obedience for Christ brought the cross. Obedience for St. Paul brought extreme hardships. All the disciples were martyred save John. For me in three short months after experiencing God, I ended up naked on a street in Bakersfield, California and suffered a complete nervous breakdown. For the next five years I suffered extreme mental illness where the police would take me off the street and put me in a psych ward where I would be medicated to the point of being a zombie. Not what one usually hears when preaching the gospel. In the gospels especially Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus ministers mostly to those who are suffering. Leprosy, palsy, blindness, deafness, lameness, the hungry, and the demon possessed. He is a man of sorrows acquainted with grief. This is certainly how most see the Messiah. Yet in contrast, he tells the rich young ruler seeking eternal life, to sell what he has and give it to the poor and take up his cross and follow Him. The rich ruler chooses his wealth over a life of suffering and Jesus laments how hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom. In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, Lazarus who suffers all his life, at death, is in the arms of Abraham, but the rich man, who fared sumptuously all his life, ends up in hell. When I first came to the Lord, the interior person of Christ was a mystery. I know that he asked me to forsake the world, to give it all up for him but only after sharing in the fellowship of his suffering was I able to better understand Him and understand the word of God. The people who I am most drawn toward are those who have suffered and done so well. It it those that Jesus was able to heal in the gospel and it is those that I know who experience healing, deliverance, and joy when I pray for them today. People who have learned obedience by the things they have suffered are people of depth and I have the utmost respect for people of depth. There is a bond, not only between me and Christ, but with all who have gone through the desert and have reached the Promised Land. It is through sharing in the cross that we will wear a crown. It is not merely people who have suffered who will share the crown, lest we forget the Jew in the desert, but those who are long suffering and kind, those who have learned patience and self control, those who have not succumbed to pity, resentment, or bitterness. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord. If you share in the suffering of Christ, you will share in the Resurrection. amen |