SCRIPTURE: I Corinthians 15:30-31 – And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? I die every day – I mean that, brothers – just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord.
COMMENTARY: Do Christianity and endangering ourselves every hour go together? They very well can. When we follow Christ, there is no way to know where he will lead us! Where he leads us can be comforting and encouraging, but showing and living grace can also take us to radical places that involve risk. We just have to make sure that we do not get comfortable with the benefits of being right with God and never risk our reputations, finances or character to do what is right in showing grace.
We don’t want to only read Hebrews 11:32-35a as our expectations of what our faith is about: “And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again.” This is what we want to hear from the chapter in this book of the Bible.
Our faith has to be informed that our faith is also about the following verses 35b-37 in the same chapter of Hebrews: “Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated – “. This is what we don’t want to hear.
If you are serious about following Christ, we can be assured of two things: suffering and God’s strength to endure it in faith.
REFLECTION: What are some reasons we suffer for following Christ? In what ways do we suffer when we don’t follow Christ? How do most Christians respond to suffering? What are the results of these responses? How has our entertainment-driven culture affected your view of suffering? What are some ways you have suffered for your faith in the past several weeks or months? How did you respond each time? How will your response be different next time?
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