SHARING
And since we are His children, we will share His treasures--for every thing that God gives to His Son, Christ, is ours, too. But if we are to share His glory, we must also share his suffering.
(Romans 8:17 NLT)
What all did Jesus suffer? Well, He was wounded, bruised, chastised, whipped, thorned, nailed, and pierced. He was mocked, lied about, rejected, ridiculed, falsely accused, and doubted by his own closest friends and family. We probably should add that he was born under questionable circumstances, so it could be that he was scorned a bit as a child. Not only that but before He knew anything a king tried to have him killed and in the process many other children lost their lives. If anyone ever had an excuse to feel sorry for himself, Jesus did. And yet, for the Joy set before Him, He endured.
Now, what about us? What part do we share in? We probably share in more than we realize. Our wounds have not been the same as His, but we all have been wounded in one-way or another. Some of those have left scars. Some of them may have even become infected and we do not even realize it.
If you go through the list you can probably think of things that pierced and stung you. You have more than likely been lied about and rejected at one time or another as well. The point is not to help you to feel sorry for yourself, but rather to get you to see what all the Lord has already brought you through. For in truth, when we were yet sinners He was sustaining us. And now here we are, His children. We share all the treasures that God has given His Son. Those are ours because God has promised them. He then goes on to say, “But if we are share His glory, we must also share His suffering.”
Now none of us want to receive glory. We want God to receive all the glory. We want Jesus to be glorified. Yet Jesus said that He gave us His glory, the same glory that God had given Him. Jesus received glory because He gave. Jesus was a giver. Jesus had patience. Jesus did not judge people He loved them. Even when they caused Him to suffer He was most concerned about them.
It is not that we should desire glory, but that Jesus has given us glory and we need walk in it. He has given us all the tools and strength to enable us to share His suffering with the same character that He did. He looked beyond the surface of what went on and said forgive them they do not know what they are doing.
Let’s face it. We could all do better at suffering. We can all improve on preferring others and bearing one another’s burdens. We can improve on blessing those that curse us, and praying for those who use us.
It is much easier to share the treasures than to share the suffering. We do not need to go looking for suffering. Nor do we need to make a big deal out of it when we do. Suffering is part of the trouble Jesus said we would run into, but He said to be of good cheer because he had it all handled. It is all part of growing up into Christ. And really it is nothing compared to what He will give us later.