Metanoia 6

Suffering
The Greatest Revolution of Jesus
Life on Earth

Rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ (1Pet.4:13).

Suffering is the greatest revolution of Jesus:

    Humankind always has tried to get reed of suffering, Jesus glorified suffering in the two mountains, in the one of the Beatitudes with His words, and at Calvary with his deeds, the Cross of Christ is the greatest success of humankind!. (Sermon on the Mount)

    A Christian is got to be a happy person, even in death... because death is the glorious door to enter Heaven... an unhappy Christian is a bad Christian.

    Suffering must be a source of happiness and joy for a Christian, because every affliction has a glorious double edge:

    1- It is like an injection that God uses to purify us (Heb.12).... I am a Medical Doctor and people pays me to give them injections, they may hurt a little, but they are meant to heal a lot.

    May be we need a little humiliation, as Simon-Peter in his denials (Mt.26)... or we need to be thrown out of our horse of pride, like Saul-Paul (Act.9).

    If you feel depressed or sad when the spouse fail you of your child is a rebel, it is because at that time you do not have faith... God is giving you that sour medicine with love, to make you a saint!... metanoia!... don't get mad with your spouse or child, give thanks with joy to God Metanoia 3

    2- Every pain or sorrow is an individual cross, the best weapon to help relatives and friends to go to Heaven. Jesus did not redeem us with his beautiful sermons, nor with his miracles, but with his cross!... and our daily cross is our best way to be evangelists, co-redeemers with Christ, to help our relatives and friends to go to Heaven, as Paul puts it:

    "I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, the church" (Colos.1:24).

    A crippled old Christian lady at home is not a burden for the family, but the best treasure of that home... she is another Christ helping all her relatives and friends to go to Heaven... and Heaven is our home!.

    "Suffering" is the greatest wealth of a Christian, not money nor honors nor power, suffering!... we should be looking for sufferings like the greedy is looking for money... that's what Jesus is telling us in the Sermon on the Mount, that's what Paul cries out in Colos.1:24 just mentioned, and that's what Peter and James claim in the Bible:

    - "Rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed." (1Pet.4:13).
    - "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds" (Jam.1:2).
    - "I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize" (1Cor.9:27).
    - "For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him" (Phil.1:29).
    Remember: Metanoia: Secret of Joy in the Bible

     Jesus compares our sufferings and troubles to those of a woman in labor: They are hard, they really hurt and will make you shout and cry... but with the hope of a new life coming to earth, your own child!... with the great deep joy of expecting something great because of those pains... (Jn.16:20-24).

    Paul compares our sufferings to those of an athlete: I used to run the 10,000 meters, and at the beginning it was alright, but in the last 100 meters all my muscles were in the most severe tension, my lungs were burning, my heart exploding... but I was happy, rejoicing, reaching the goal (1Cor.9:24-27).

    Life on earth is a valley of tears for every body, including a Christian... the great difference is that for a pagan every hurt is like a heavy weight that sinks him more in the mud, for a Christian sufferings become wings to bring him closer to Heaven.

    The greatest human suffering in history was "God on a Cross", and it was the greatest triumph of humankind!.

    One last thought: If you ever feel you are good for nothing, you are still good enough to be a saint... and to be a saint is the greatest thing a person can be on earth... and in Heaven!.

    If you ever feel depressed or ignored, or very sick or too old, you are still good enough to be a saint... God is for you!... are you for you?. (1Tes.4:3, Mt.5:48).

    1 Corinthians is about the Cross of Christ, 2 Corinthians is about the Cross of the Christian... who dares to go on horse when his Captain carries a Cross?
 

There are Four Reasons for suffering in the Bible:

    1- The Prodigal Son or the Lost Sheep, of Lc.15:  
    We suffer because we run away from home, we do not keep the Commandments, which are like the Laws of Traffic: If you pass the red light or you come out of the road, you may hurt others or yourself... But God is after us, not with a stick, but as a good shepherd to carry us in His shoulders... and He is waiting for us, for our repentance, our metanoia, our change of life, to receive us with a great feast, organized in person by God! (Luk.15:5-6, 22-24).

    2- The Correction of God, of Hebrews 12:
    Sufferings, pains, tribulations, are like injections God gives to the ones He loves to purify them, to make them saints. Mentioned above.

    3- The sufferings of co-Redemption, of Colos.1:24:
    Already mentioned above, because every Christian is another Christ... they are the sufferings of Jesus... and of all the Saints, starting with Virgin Mary in Egypt and Calvary, St. Peter crucified, St. Paul beheaded, the other apostles martyred...

    4- The Chastisements of God:   
    God chastises with power... if anyone says that God doesn't chastises, he is ignoring a great part of the Bible:       
        - The Flood of Gen.7:17: God uses a flood for 40 days (6:6-8).
        - Sodom and Gomorrah of Gen.19:24: Burning sulphur out the heavens from Yahweh
        - The 10 Plagues of Exodus 7-12: Ten different plagues sent by God Himself.
        - In Judges: God uses other nations to punish Israel very hard, again and again.
        - In Job, God used Satan... but it was God! (Job 1:9-12, 21).
        - Hell of the New Testament!... the worst punishment of God... eternal! 

    Metanoia!, God is with us every second of the day, to love us, to help us, to purify us... we have to live every second in the presence of God... if we ignore God, if we don't trust Him, we are going to live with sadness and worries on earth... and we may even end up in eternal Hell.

    In Revelation, Sufferings are the Trumpets of God:

    Trumpets are used dozens of times in the Bible for many purposes... but in Revelation they are the voice of God, as John heard it in 1:10... they are the megaphones of God:
    1- Jesus whispers into our ears with the wonders of nature, with an atom, with a star... who made the wings of a bird?, or the eyes of a mosquito?, or the hairs of your head?... all scientists of history have been unable to make a petal of a rose, not even a leave of a tree!... but we don't listen to God!.
    2- Then, He talks to us in the Bible, with the teachings of the Church... but we still refuse to listen to God.
    3- And when there is no other way, Jesus shouts into our ears with the Trumpets of God, with sufferings and pains, which  are the megaphones of Jesus, His most dear earthquakes, the most delicate expression of His love to us.... He wants to see us in Heaven!.   

    Yes... metanoia!... metanoia!... God is with us, right now...praise the Lord!, no matter what He sends to me right now... it is for my good... to live happy with peace on earth, right now... and to end up in eternal joy and peace in Heaven, for ever and ever

    God loves us and cares so much about us that even all the hairs of our head has well counted (Matt.10:30)... anything and everything in our lives are for the good of us!, including sickness, hurricanes, failures, problems in the family or at work... everything is a gift of God for us, planned with care and love by God himself for us (Rom.8:28).   

    A Christian  is got to be a very happy person, even in death!... because death is the glorious door to enter Heaven.

Life on Earth:

    Life on earth has been defined as a party, a dream, a race, a marathon, a war, a game, a circus, a puzzle, a journey, a dance, a carousel with ups and downs...

    The way you see life, shapes your entire life: Tell me in what you spend your time and money and I will tell your definition of life on earth... Metanoia!

    The Bible tells us life is a trial, a test, a trust, a temporary assignment... a War, the Fight of Faith.

    1- Live is a trial, a test:

    God wants you to go to eternal Heaven, with happiness for ever and ever... and God tests you to see if you are worth of it, as He tested Adam and Abraham and Moses and David and Job and Ruth and Esther and Virgin Mary and Peter and Paul and Judas...

    If you pass the test, if you have faith in God, you will live with joy on earth, and you will go to eternal Heaven... if you don't have faith in God, you will live with a thousand and one worries on earth, and on top of it you will go to eternal Hell.

    The good news is that God wants you to pass the tests of life:

    No temptation (no test) has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted (tested) beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted (tested), he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. (1Cor.10:13).

    But you are "free", you have to pass the test of Faith:

    Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. (Jam.1:12).

    The Dark Night of the Soul:   
    We will all have our Good Friday, as Jesus and Mary and Paul and Abraham and Moses had it... a time of the greatest suffering, mainly the absence of God, as if God is not there!... but if your keep your faith, rejoice!, because when you have your Good Friday it means your Resurrection day is near... no one can reach Easter Sunday without passing through Good Friday...

    And we call it "Good" Friday, because it is "really Good", with the deepest sufferings, but with the glorious hope of early eternal Resurrection...

    Christian life is like a tunnel... at the beginning there is light, lots of it!... but as you go on, light darkens, until the point there is no light, all is complete darkness, only the little light of faith is left... but at the end of the tunnel, light comes as a sudden explosion at the vision of God, face to face, in the eternal joy of Heaven.

    2- Life is a Trust:

    God is the creator and owner of everybody and everything on earth, The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it (Ps.24:1).

    God gives us our body, intelligence, money, home, resources, opportunities, relationships... all are gifts from God He entrusts to our care and management.

    But we don't owe anything!... we are trustees of His properties, stewards of whatever God loans us... all we have are loans of God!.

    Do you remember the Parable of the Talents?:

    ²⁰The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.'
     ²¹"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' (Mat.5:20-21).

    Money is a talent, both a trust and a test... and for many people is the greatest test of all... If you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches of heaven? (Lk:16:11).

    What do you do with your money?... you use it just to have more?... you let it bore in any bank?... you use it to help your neighbor?, to teach him about life and death?... Metanoia!.

    3- Life is a Temporary Assignment... Christ's Ambassadors:

    The Bible uses terms like pilgrim, foreigner, stranger, alien, visitor, traveler, a breath...

    But our citizenship is in heaven. (Phil.3:20).

    You are not home yet... At death, you won't leave home, you will go home!

    Life on earth is very short, like a second in the clock of eternity,

    ⁴ "Show me, O LORD , my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life.
     ⁵ You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man's life is but a breath. (Ps.39).

    When you grasp this truth you will stop worrying about "having it all" on earth... Metanoia!

    All that is not eternal is eternal waste.... you can't bring your money to Heaven... use it on earth to bye eternal goods...

    Christ's Ambassadors:

    We are therefore Christ's ambassadors (2Cor.5:20).

    Every Christian is an Ambassador of Christ on Earth... what an assignment!.   

    Yes, we will talk more about all of this on Metanoia 7... now, just Metanoia!

    Quotations: NIV at the Bible Gateway

Continuation: Metanoia 7