March 27

John 18:11 (NIV)
11 Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”

The question to us today is does God will us to go through suffering? If so, then as Jesus did we must endure it or “drink it”. Peter wanted to fight his way, or Jesus way, out of this situation, but Jesus said that the Father had decided that He (Jesus) should go through this suffering. We all know and agree that Jesus had to suffer, but how about us? As you read through the Word of God you will see that suffering was a part of many of the writer’s and saint’s life. The question is, does God want us to suffer?

This question is a western one. What I mean is that people who live in the west are the most likely to ask if we are to suffer for Christ or not. Why? Because we live in such freedom that we don’t see suffering as our lot. A cursory read of Paul or Peter however, should change our view as would an examination of many places in this world. There is suffering going on, martyrdom, kidnapping, assault, rape and much more against Christians around the world. The question shouldn’t be; does God want us to suffer, but what suffering does God want us to endure. We are not victims, nor should we act like ones. We should only endure what God has ordained us to go through and nothing more, but for us westerners, that is still a big leap.

One of the other reasons why it is hard for us is because when we came to Christ, we didn’t really die. We died to some things, but not to others. We hold on dearly to many things that we agreed at conversion – at second birth – to die to. Jesus had already died, that is why He could die physically. He was dead to His self will, to His own plan. If we actually died to our self, our self will, our self _________ (fill in the blank), how greatly would we be used?! We would become like Jesus, and walk the walk that Jesus walked. Isn’t that what we all long for?