There are parts of our lives as followers of Jesus that aren’t yet like Jesus. We are being transformed from one degree of glory to another (2 Cor 3:18). The way God transforms us is pain, death, faith/repentance, resurrection, repeat.
So often we think either we must be doing something wrong if we’re experiencing pain or God is doing something wrong if we are experiencing it.
Granted, sometimes the reason God brings hurt or pain in our lives is because of our sin. That seems to have been the case in Corinth for those who were being selfish and misusing the Lord’s supper (1 Corinthians 1:29-31). Some of the Christians became “weak,” “ill,” and “died” because they ate and drank “without discerning the body,” i.e., abused the Lord’s supper for their own selfish reasons. But that’s not the main point I want to communicate today.
The main point I want to communicate is as follows:
- We have remaining (or indwelling) sin. Sin is not who we are in Christ, but it is still part of us. Sometimes Scripture calls it our “flesh.”
- We are on a journey to continuously and increasingly see this remaining sin, or our flesh, die. King Jesus is intent on His bride being pure for the day He returns.
- Dying is painful.
- Therefore, a normal part of being a Christian is the pain that comes through regularly dying to ourselves.
What This Might Look Like
It might look like humbling ourselves to confess sin to our spouse or children . . . again. It might look like blessing those who curse us and praying for those who spitefully use us. It might look like walking away from a conversation instead of participating in the thrill of gossip. It might mean biting our tongue instead of telling a joke that seeks to make us feel good at another’s expense.
There’s nothing wrong with avoiding hurt if you can, mind you. Paul told slaves in 1 Corinthians 7:21 that if they could gain their freedom, they should take advantage of it. Paul once appealed to his Roman citizenship to avoid being beaten (Acts 22). Paul instructed Timothy to drink a little wine to help his stomach issues (1 Timothy 5:23). Even Jesus asked His Father to allow Him to avoid being crucified if it was possible (Matt 26:39).
But there are times when it is necessary for us to suffer and hurt. Those are times when we suffer “according to God’s will” (1 Peter 4:19).
Just because you’re experiencing pain doesn’t mean you’re not exactly where God wants you. The presence of pain does not equal the absence of God. He could be removing part of your flesh–the sin that so easily besets us–through the pain. After all, dying hurts.
But we must remember that dying to our flesh for the sake of Christ is always followed by resurrection. And even if our whole life is a continual dying to self (it seems to have been that way for Paul, who died “every day” 1 Cor 15:31), we can rejoice because we know that the suffering is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. If we die with Him we will also live with Him (2 Tim 2:11). And He is not living with any more pain.
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