Joy in Suffering

Okay, it’s just totally weird some of the stuff that just pops right in front of you when reading the Bible. Like on Sunday at Shark Club (Rock Harbor for those of you who don’t attend this church), we were talking about sex and sexuality from the perspective of marriage, and anyway, we were going over Ephesians 5:21-28 and go figure…our English translation doesn’t really fit the Greek! Oh, well you know, that’s getting a bit off topic from where I wanted to go; the point being that concept can kind of just jump out at you from out of no where.

Back on topic (great transition, huh?), I was reading my Bible today when something hit me…a footnote! I love footnotes (especially when writing a 50 page paper)!

Take a moment and read Romans 5:1-11…If you don’t have your bibles with you, here you go:

“1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, weD have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And weD rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3Not only so, but weD also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”

Okay, I know it’s only 1-5, but that’s a lot to type…

Anyway, notice how there are little footnotes in verses 1, 2, and 3. Let me show you what the footnote says, “D1,2,3 Or let us” Meaning, try replacing “we” with “let us” because some translations use “let us” instead of “we.”

You try it. Go on, replace the “we”s with the footnote with “let us” and you might just be surprised at the change in meaning.

…Well…Did you see or feel it? If not, that’s okay, because I’m going to explain it anyway.

Every time I read this passage before today (once or twice recently I think), I always understood it to be something that comes normal for “true” Christians…It’s normal and natural for a Christian to have peace with God, it’s normal for a Christian to rejoice in the glory of God, and it’s normal for a Christian to rejoice in their suffering. HA! I must not be a Christian then, because there are many times when I’m not at peace with God, nor do I hardly ever rejoice in my suffering!

It seems to come across as a normal and natural thing because when it was translated, those who translated decided to use “we”. Why is that such a big deal? Well because the word “we” is very selective and has the tendency to include some, but not all. Where as the term, “let us” is extremely inclusive to anybody because it’s saying, “come and let us be together in this, united…all.”

Such a huge difference! I now feel that the three point that Paul is making in these few verses is now, “Hey, we get to have peace with God (it does not come natural, but we get the opportunity); we get to rejoice in the HOPE of God’s grace (it’s doesn’t come naturally, but we get the opportunity); we GET to rejoice in our suffering (it in NO way comes naturally, but we GET to!)!”

I mean holy crap! I get to rejoice in my suffering? Isn’t that just a bit masochistic? Honestly, I don’t think so, at least in the context that Paul is writing, “suffering produces character; and character, hope.” So, if we rejoice in our suffering, knowing that afterward we will be changed for the better, or we will have a new understanding, then it is very possible to be joyous for times of suffering.

But then does that mean that we should try to be happy about our hard times? This I’m not totally sold on because I know that it is possible to “joyful” and not happy at the same time. For instance, say an amazingly close, Christian friend of yours died. Yes, you’re distraught that they’re gone and sad for your loss and others’ loss, but at the same time you know that they are with the creator of the universe! And that’s a joyful thought.

So, are we called to be happy about our tough times? I still don’t know, because if we don’t put the effort into trying to be happy or joyful in our time of sorrow or suffering, then it becomes that much easier to fall into a depressing slump where you become depressed, miserable and in essence, not yourself (well, for most people, but I’m generally pretty dark and depressing by nature...I think it’s just part of who I am).

Are there any down sides to wanting/trying/succeeding at being happy during your time of suffering? I think there are, believe it or not. If you put so much effort into showing/displaying a different person than what’s going on, then you become fake to the world and those around you. This can actually become habit forming because then you realize that, maybe more people like this pretend you, and so then you start “being” that person more often. You begin to hide the trouble, the sorrow, the pain so much that it just keeps building up in side of you to the point where you don’t know which way is up and you don’t care because you would rather die than carry on. Sorry, there’s a bit of me for those of you who were wondering why I know this…feeling…state…framework so well. I used to be there heavily, and occasionally visit it.

So, one would think that there has to be some kind of middle ground, right? I don’t know. If there is, would someone please share it.

The point of this is…we CAN and GET to be joyful about our pain, suffering, sorrow and time of being down trodden because we know, beyond a shadow of doubt that in the end, we will be who God wants us to be; we will be better people; we will be better “Christians” (whatever that means).

No one ever said that Christianity was easy to live out, or easy to understand…but we know that it is rough at times and most of all…we know the outcome. WE WIN!

I guess that’s it for now, I think I’ve said everything that I wanted to say…Sorry it’s so long, it just sometimes takes me a while to process some of this stuff and really understand it. Well, I guess I shall now leave you to do what you want…Adios.