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Pain and suffering seem to have a special ability to
show us how much we need each other. Our struggles remind us how fragile
we really are. Even the weakness of others can bolster us when our own
strength is sapped.
This truth becomes very real to me each time I meet
with my church family for Sunday school, prayer and fellowship. During
those times together, we have shared one another's burdens for a sick
child, the loss of a job, workplace tensions, a rebellious child,
hostility among family members, depression, everyday stresses, an unsaved
family member, tough decisions, battles with sin, and much more. Many
times at the end of those meetings I have praised the Lord for the
encouragement that we have given to one another. We have been drawn
closer and we have been strengthened as we have faced the struggles of
life together.
These kinds of personal experiences in light of
Scripture remind me of two truths:
1. Suffering helps us to see our need of other
believers.
2. Suffering helps us to meet the needs of others as
we allow Christ to live through us.
Let's take a look at each of these ways God uses
pain and suffering for the purpose of uniting us with other believers in
Christ.
1. SUFFERING HELPS US TO SEE OUR NEED OF OTHER
BELIEVERS.
In describing the unity of all believers in Christ,
the apostle Paul used the analogy of a human body (1 Cor. 12). He said
that we need each other to function properly. Paul described the
situation this way: "And if one member suffers, all the members
suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with
it. Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually"
(vv.26,27).
In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul spoke of
Christ, "from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what
every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every
part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself
in love" (Eph. 4:16).
When we begin to recognize all that other believers
have to offer us, then we will realize how much can be gained by reaching
out to them when we are going through a time of struggle. When troubles
seem to knock out our strength, we can lean on other believers to help us
find new strength in the Lord's power.
2. SUFFERING HELPS US TO MEET THE NEEDS OF OTHERS AS
WE ALLOW CHRIST TO LIVE THROUGH US.
In 2 Corinthians 1, the apostle Paul wrote,
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father
of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our
tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble,
with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God"
(vv.3,4).
As we saw earlier, we need each other because we
have something valuable to offer each other. We have spiritual insights
and wisdom that we have learned as we have personally undergone trials of
all sorts. We know the value of the personal presence of a loving person.
When we experience the comfort of God during a troubling situation, we
then have an ability to identify with those people who undergo similar
situations.
While preparing to write this message, I read about
the experiences of people who have suffered greatly, and I spoke with
others who were familiar with pain. I searched to find out who helped
them most in their time of trouble. The answer again and again has been
this: another person who had undergone a similar experience. That person
can empathize more fully, and his or her comments reflect understanding
that comes by experience. To someone who is burdened, it often sounds
shallow and patronizing to hear another say, "I understand what you
are going through," unless that person has gone through a similar
situation.
Even though the best comforters are those who have
undergone similar situations and have grown spiritually stronger through
them, that does not mean that the rest of us are off the hook. All of us
have a responsibility to do all we can to empathize, to try to
understand, to try to comfort. Galatians 6:2 tells us, "Bear one another's
burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." And Romans 12:15 states,
"Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep."
Dr. Paul Brand, an expert on the disease of leprosy,
wrote, "When suffering strikes, those of us standing close by are
flattened by the shock. We fight back the lumps in our throats, march
resolutely to the hospital for visits, mumble a few cheerful words,
perhaps look up articles on what to say to the grieving.
"But when I ask patients and their families,
'Who helped you in your suffering?' I hear a strange, imprecise answers.
The person described rarely has smooth answers and a winsome,
effervescent personality. It is someone quiet, understanding, who listens
more than talks, who does not judge or even offer much advice. 'A sense
of presence.' 'Someone there when I needed him.' A hand to hold, an
understanding, bewildered hug. A shared lump in the throat"
(Fearfully and Wonderfully Made, pp.203,204).
It's clear--God made us to be dependent on one
another. We have much to offer those in pain, and others have much to
offer us as we endure troubles. As we develop that unity, we will
experience greater comfort when we recognize that God uses suffering to
alert us to the problems of sin, He uses difficulty to direct us to Him,
and He can even use problems to make us more like Christ.
So, as the apostle Paul wrote, we should "...
also glory (rejoice) in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces
perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope " (Rom
5:3-4). It is that character that allows us to empathize and the hope
that allows us to overcome!
Curtis
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