My husband and I just finished volume one of Sam Storm's two volume book entitled "A Sincere and Pure Devotion to Christ". Michael reads a chapter or two each night before we turn out the lights. One portion really stood out to me as I was contemplating the American Christian culture and how, frankly, scared we are of putting ourselves in harms way for the sake of the gospel. Here is the excerpt below, which God used to both convict and encourage us:
I travel extensively throughout the U.S. and occasionally overseas, speaking at churches and conferences. Typically, either at some point while I'm away or immediately upon my return, my wife lovingly asks such questions as: "Did the ministry go well? Did they respond positively to what you had to say? Did you sleep well in the hotel? At what restaurants did you eat? Are you feeling o.k.?"
She's never yet heard me say in reply: "They threw stones at me during my first sermon. One caught me square in the forehead. I felt my life was in jeopardy on a few occasions and I honestly didn't know if I'd escape. Two leaders in the church beat me with rods and the local sheriff threw me in jail on the second night. I didn't sleep a wink in that stinking cell and the food was so repulsive I couldn't eat a thing. Other than that, the ministry was great!"
No one in the Christian west anticipates such treatment. If we ever encountered anything remotely similar to what Paul faced, we'd wipe the dust from our shoes and never return. Surely "ministers of God" (v. 4a) who are dedicated to the gospel ought to expect the best of everything. How dare anyone deprive us of our comforts!
So what would motivate a man to willingly pursue a life characterized by the sort of hardships Paul endured? What could possibly sustain a man through such sufferings?
One answer is found in Hebrews 10:32-34. There we read of Christians who "endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated" (vv. 32-33). Beyond this, they "joyfully accepted the plundering" of their "property" (v. 34)! Here's why. Here's how. They "knew" they "had a better possession and an abiding one" (v. 34).
The degree to which we find suffering intolerable is the degree to which we lack confidence in the glory of our inheritance in Christ. To the extent that we are embittered by oppression and persecution, we reveal our lack of satisfaction in him.
Paul was in the grip of the glory to come (cf. 2 Cor. 4:16-18), and found strength to endure. Like those believers in Hebrews 10, he feasted on the promise of a future with Christ and held fast.
