DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- THE AFFLICTIONS OF CHRIST

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – THE AFFLICTIONS OF CHRIST

"I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ for the sake of His body, which is the church…." (Colossians 1:24)

What does this mean, to "fill up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ"? We know that the Lord Jesus suffered and died once for the sins of the world, and that His sacrifice was sufficient – that we cannot add anything to it. So what did Paul mean? I'm not sure I have the full answer, but perhaps some meditating might prove useful.

For starters, remember that Jesus said to expect affliction as a Christian. He said, "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you" (John 15:18). He said that the servant is not greater than his master. He said, "If they persecuted me, they will persecute you" (John 15:20). He said that His disciples would drink the cup of suffering for His name's sake (Mark 10:38-39). We should not to be surprised when people treat us badly because He promised that his followers would be persecuted. In fact, the Scriptures say that "all who live godly in this world will suffer persecution." And He didn't just talk about it – He endured the cross and despised the shame (Hebrews 12:2). Jesus knew what affliction is all about.

The Apostle also knew what affliction was – beating, stoneings, rejection. But his attitude was that he was just sharing in the afflictions of Christ. Even though the death and suffering of Christ for our salvation was sufficient, there is still the outworking of the Gospel in our lives. In that sense we fill up the afflictions of Christ. He suffered once, but we have the privilege of sharing in His suffering for the sake of the Gospel when we suffer for His sake. We know very little about what it means to suffer affliction for Christ's sake. But when the followers of Christ are rejected, abused, tortured, and abandoned, they are sharing His suffering. Jesus said that His disciples are blessed when they are persecuted for His name's sake (Matthew 5:11).

Remember that when people mistreat us for the sake of the Gospel, they are not just abusing us but they are attacking Christ. Remember what Jesus said to Saul when He appeared to him on the way to Damascus? Jesus said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting." The believers were the ones who suffered at the hand of Saul, but in reality, it was Jesus whom Paul was attacking.

Paul suffered with "rejoicing." Could this be what James was referring to when he said to "count it all joy when you fall into various trials" (James 1:2)? Jesus said that we can rejoice and be glad when people revile and persecute and say all kinds of lies against us (Matthew 5:12). We can gladly suffer for the sake of the Gospel because we have the privilege of "filling up the afflictions of Christ."

Love, Dad