Suffers

“and if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.”  1 Corinthians 12:26

Suffers – Life as it is.  It’s not always what we wanted.  It’s not always fair or just.  It’s not always enjoyable.  Life includes pascho, the Greek word for suffer.  Just as Jesus had his “passion”, His suffering, so we also have our suffering.  It is expected.

Christians do not retire.  They get recalled.  If you are living as a follower of Jesus, you will never reach the point where you can retire from the job.  There is no heaven of earth for a Christian.  As long as we are resident aliens, we will be at work for our Lord.  We are not waiting for retirement.  We are waiting to go home. 

In the meanwhile, life as it is brings suffering.  Now notice how a Christian deals with this inevitable fact of earthly existence.  When one follower suffers, all followers are involved in this suffering.  There are two important nuances involved in this thought.  The first is found in the word itself.  Pascho is evil that comes upon us.  It is something from outside.  It happens to you.  This is not the kind of bad consequences that result from sinful choices or mismanaged opportunities.  Pascho is primarily about life’s unpredictable traumas.  Bad things happen to good people.  Don’t look for blame here.  Take Jesus’ lead.  Look for purpose.

The second nuance is found in the second use of pascho.  When Paul says that all members “suffer” with it, he alters the verb just a little.  He adds the prefix sun (together).  He wants us to see quite clearly that the suffering of one entails the sum of all.  Christians are never alone.  You might feel like no one understands what you’re going through.  You might feel as though you have to face it by yourself.  But you’re wrong.  God’s family is deliberately designed to go through things together.  God invented the motto of the Musketeers:  “all for one”.

What are you facing today that makes you feel alone?  Don’t be deceived.  Your brothers and sisters are there, waiting to help you.  Didn’t Jesus say, “You have not because you ask not”?  It is a mark of pride and ego to act as though you are so different that no one else is able to empathize.  Get over it.  God knows we are all the same under the skin.  He made us that way.