I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ...I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
(Philippians 3:10-14)
Fulfillment? Seems like code for 'happiness'. Is fulfillment in this life really what Jesus died on a cross for? In a society that is attuned to instant gratification we now see the dumbing down of religion primarily to serve the purposes of the here and now.
When an Olympic athlete trains he trains with a purpose - this purpose makes him a disciple of the sport. Those who play beer league hockey are not disciples but treat the activity as an add-on to their life. In the same way Christians in our culture often approach faith as an add-on, combined with the other add-ons, hopefully amounting to happiness. The focus here is not on the eternal but on the temporary. Students go to school to earn a degree but the degree is not the end in itself, rather the beginning of a lifelong career.
Just like the Olympic athlete we train in this life and endure as true disciples of Christ. Our faith is to be our consuming motivation and not merely an add-on to be added to the list in attempt to be happy. True fulfillment does not come as a replacement for the drugs, sex and rock & roll but a completely different paradigm that stands in opposition to the idea of comfort or enjoyment being paramount.
Given the issues brought about by the current economic recession, a friend of mine asked a rhetorical question: "What is up with all us Christians suffering?" I wanted to say "are you kidding?" Does it not say in the scriptures "For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust"(Matt 5:45). Jesus Christ is a messiah of suffering and we are called to take up our cross and follow him!
Often when we use the word suffering as Christians we actually mean “being uncomfortable”. Is economic uncertainty suffering like the suffering of the apostles and the martyrs? Or how about our brothers and sisters in Darfur?What of the Christians in Iraq living in danger of acts of terror and murder? What about our African brothers and sisters in Christ who have lived in war torn countries resulting in their children stolen, women raped, and families killed? Contrast this with the suffering we endure and I would label at least some of it as being merely uncomfortable.
Jeff Wilson
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