You can take “offence” to mean God’s testing so as to separate “the wheat from the chaff.” Or, it can mean, for me, God’s chastisement, His discipline. In line with this interpretation is Job 5:17-18, “Blessed is the man who God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. For he wounds but He also binds up; he injures, but his hands also heal.”
Many Christians forget that following Jesus means suffering with Him. The discipline of suffering is the key to the discipline of obedience. This, I know, I have to explain. But first, let me challenge you with this statement: Show me a man or woman who is willing to and has suffered for God, and I will show you a true Christian worth his salt. When they say, God’s love will not let us go, it means just that. God will challenge us to change, correct us whenever needed and mould and shape us continually - however resisting we are to his masterful hands. The more we resist, the more painful the process will be for us. Therefore, God’s love will not let us go…unchanged, unwrought, unrepentant. Ultimately, we will know when God is done with us. When we see no more of ourselves, and all of God, then we will know that the process is near completion and our obedience is near perfection.
No earthly parents I know will knowingly allow their children to grow up a rebel; childishly unheeding and immature. It hurts the parents more to see a child growing up wayward or deviant. When the opportunity avails itself, earthly parents spare not the cane. And we all know that the cane brings on the pain. But however painful the discipline may be, it is one that our parents know they cannot do without. Hebrews 12:10-11 is a worthy savor for your thoughts, “Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”
This is where the mind of God becomes hard to fathom. God’s discipline sometimes seem unremittingly excessive, and at some point, very harsh, painful and intolerantly perplexing. To those going through trials in their life, the cell member has this thought for you…God is good but He is not nice. Again, this statement is provoking and rather serious; but truth, as true believers know it, is usually served with no apology. Becoming a Christian is not like joining a country club. The membership, as a Christian, does have its privileges but not in the way country club members would have it. Jesus has called us to think carefully the cost of discipleship. Although there is no membership fees, Jesus’ disciples follow a strict regimen of abstinence, self-denial and a whole lot of cross-lifting. If I may sum up the “fine print” of being a Christian, it should read, “…if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.” (Luke 9:23-24) So much for divine niceties!
Death is the ultimate price for being a Christian. At the same time, it is its own ultimate reward. I know death is too morbid a thought for most Christians to ponder upon, especially during this CNY season. But to a man who is prepared to die for God, even to the most gruesome end, what reservation does he have to suffer for God? All eleven disciples of Jesus knew the cost and they gave their lives for God regardless. Such acts are rare nowadays. Even professing that you are ready to die for God is not advisedly popular in today’s Christian circles. The prosperity gospel, as Brother James puts it, is off-putting to say the least. Nowadays, Christians have their limit as to how far they would want to go with God. I call this limit, the “inconvenience barometer.” Our offerings are no more than what Cain would have given to God. The best offerings are usually left for ourselves and we give God our leftovers, sparing only those harvests of effort and time that inconvenient us the least. And here is the real issue of suffering for us Christians: the more we are prepared to die for God, the least our sufferings for Him will cost us. And the least it costs us, the more we rejoice in suffering for God!
Our own sufferings will cost us most, even to the extent of us giving up our faith and salvation, when we are least prepared to carry the cross daily, to deny ourselves and to follow Jesus unconditionally. How do we see our own mortality? How much weight do we give it as compare to the reality of Jesus’ promises of a heaven that knows no guilt, no pain and no shame? Simply put, if we value our mortality more than the life thereafter, then we would readily trade our belief and faith for transient relief should the inconvenience that we experience as a Christian exceed that which we are willing to bear. And believe you me, Christians who believe for belief’s sake and know not the depth of God’s love or the price of Christ’s sacrifice are easily swayed by doubts, temptations and deceit. Their foundation is seriously compromised and their faith is built on sinking sand and not upon the Rock of Ages.
I see our walk with God as two-stage. The first stage starts with the ceremonious altar call or when we utter the sinner’s prayer. This is where we as Christians learn to be Christ-like. This is a learning process and we are most vulnerable to waver. At this stage, we still have remnants of ourselves. We are still independent of God – still try wanting to do things our way, still wanting to understand God with our carnal mind, and still clinging on to sins of the past.
The second stage comes through years of discipline and learning. It is the stage of Christian maturity. This is the stage where our faith is most resilient, our knowledge of God the deepest and our trust in Him is almost weather-proof. This is also the stage where Christian martyrs are made of. Although we cannot say that we have arrived, we can proclaim that we are effectively dead to ourselves and alive with Christ. It is at this stage of Christian maturity that we are most effective in doing His works. When our self is gone, our independence goes with it too. We become empty vessels for God’s filling. St Augustine once said, “God always pours His grace into empty hands.” It is when we truly let go and let God that we are then able to deal with the issue of suffering in a world where a loving God is still in control. Somehow, our faith remains unwavering even in the midst of pain and suffering. Our joy is secured in the face of adversity. And our hope mysteriously grows stronger when hopelessness exacts its toll on our spirit. At this seemingly invulnerable stage, we are able to say what Job said, “Even though you slay me, I will still trust in you.”
So, in the end, to a matured Christian, to a Christian who had his fair share of trials and tribulation, to a Christian who has died to himself, the question to be asked is NOT, “why is there still suffering in a world where God is all-loving, all-just and all-powerful?” The question asked by this exclusive group of matured Christian is, “Why not?” Why not suffering when its duration is but temporary and its reward eternal? Much intangible benefits can be reaped from suffering as James 1:2-4 puts it, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your fait develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” True joy can only be savored through trials as 1 Peter 1:7-8 puts it, “These (all kinds of trials) have come so that you faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may be proved genuine a may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.”
Finally, as we die to self, we come alive to his resurrection power. On this last point, I will allow Henri Nouwen to take us home with this quote, “In the kingdom, you can only heal if you have first been wounded; you can only lead if you have first been a servant, and the way we are wounded to heal, humbled to serve, is when we allow nails to be driven through ourselves, so that we die, and God’s resurrection power is unleashed through us!”
So, in summary, two kinds of faith distinguish two kinds of Christians. While the immature Christian asks, "Why? the mature Christian asks, "Why not?" While the 1st stage Christian exercises bubble-gum faith, that is, the kind that burst when under pressure, the 2nd stage Christian exercises resilient faith - one that grows stronger despite the pressure. And lastly, while babes in Christ wallows and finally gives up in the midst of a trial, the authentic Christian rejoices his way to the cross of ultimate sacrifice. In the end, asking the right questions when facing your crisis can completely change the direction of your walk with God. So, here's a thought for your digest this CNY: Have faith in God's faithfulness and not yours.
Have a God-inspired CNY!
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