The Benefits Of Suffering: It's not all about me!

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21 take it in for a moment think about that There was no sin in Christ He was pure, blameless, and perfect in every way! Yet He became sin itself, so that we could become like Him, the righteousness of God Reading Philippians tonight, something hit me In chapter three. Paul states what his goal is or what he wants out of life.      Paul's goal was to Know Christ, to know the power of God that raised Him from the dead, and to share in the fellowship of Christ's sufferings. I've never, in my many times reading Philippians, actually had this stand out to me, but when I think about what Paul is saying, I come to the conclusion that Paul simply wanted to live as Christ lived.

     Jesus didn't just live a cozy life. There was suffering to be had for Him. He went into the wilderness for forty days without food, and during that time was tempted by Satan. He was betrayed by a man who He poured His life out into for a very long time. He was rejected by His hometown, and eventually He was branded a criminal and was crucified!

     But He didn't stay in the grave. He overcame death and through His sufferings we, humanity, reap the benefits! He became sin so that we could be called righteous. There was a debt that was way to big for us to pay, and He paid it with His earthly life. When God raised Him from the grave, He came forth bringing salvation, and freedom from the sin that was defeated. He brought forth healing for broken hearts. Through the sufferings of Christ, those who accept Him reap great benefits, so when I see what Paul's goal in life is I realize that Paul wasn't living an "It's all about me." lifestyle, but instead He was looking to live as Jesus did.

    Jesus was God in the flesh, yet suffered on our behalf. I can imagine there were times when He was annoyed with people, but didn't sin. Through the sufferings of Christ we not only gain eternal life, but we also gain abundant life here on Earth. We have an example of how to live out abundant life, and abundant life is not an "It's all about me." lifestyle. An abundant life has it's sufferings, and many times we don't get to reap the benefits of our sufferings if we aren't remembering who Christ is. If we are focused on ourselves we get big headed thinking it's all about us.

We begin to think we deserve not to suffer.

We say "Why should I suffer?!"

We get angry, and say things like

"When is God gonna give me a break!?"

I must say 

I am humbled at Pauls goal for His life

and pray that God teach me this everyday

that my goal is to live as Christ did

to join in His sufferings

because it is not about me

Why should I suffer? I don't know exactly why all the time,

but I know that God makes all things work together for the good of those who love Him

and are called to His purpose

I usually focus on the loving Him part, and I do love Him, but I want to focus

on the called to His purpose

As children of God we are called to a purpose

and that purpose is to make disciples of all nations

baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit

teaching them to obey everything that He has commanded

Matthew 28:19-20

If that is our purpose and God makes things work out for our good

then our sufferings, when we trust God through them, work out to accomplish 

the mission that God has set before us

It's not about me

I gave my life away!

How could it be about me!?