thoughts on suffering from John Piper

"[God] calls us into the obedience of suffering not to demonstrate the strength of our devotion to duty or to reveal the vigor of our moral resolve or to prove the heights of our tolerance for pain, but rather to manifest, in childlike faith, the infinite preciousness of His all-satisfying promises." - John Piper

Suffering in the Christian life is ultimately for joy. It is hard to believe this, especially when we are in the midst of suffering. But consider the multiple verses -

"By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward." Heb 11:24-26

"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Heb 12:2

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4

"But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you." 1 Peter 4:13-14

In Piper's book Desiring God, the concluding chapter is on suffering, and it is particularly enlightening. According to Piper, the kind of joy that accompanies suffering as a Christian is not just a side-effect, it is something that we are to pursue. Both our Lord Jesus Christ and Moses chose suffering not for its own sake, but for the greater joy that it would bring. There are many different reasons to rejoice in suffering, and Piper gives many examples from the Bible as well as from the testimonies of many persecuted Christians and missionaries.

Ultimately, only suffering for a greater hope and joy can exclude pride or self-pity from resulting. If we focus solely on self-denial for its own sake, then there is no point. Self-denial is always for something greater - forsaking the temporal pleasures for the eternal ones, forsaking the worldly things that tantalise but never satisfy, for the fountain of joy that is God. Look at Paul's words:

"If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, 'Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.' " 1 Cor 15:32. In other words, if there is no hope of the resurrection, there was no point in Paul's suffering. If there was no greater joy, then he would be more pitied than all men, for he had forsaken the ordinary comforts of a Roman citizen, the good life that a person of his ability could easily have led.

I must admit that it is hard to really apply all this. For one, I am hardly facing any sort of direct persecution for being a Christian. And secondly, the attitude of joy is not something we can suddenly decide to have, and then have it. But as Piper says, if we are truly walking in obedience to God, any kind of suffering that we encounter is suffering as a Christian. And while we can't give ourselves that capacity to delight while suffering, we can pray for it, and at least be willing to take the focus off ourselves, and by reading His words, and taking them as truth, make the first step towards that. Don't underestimate the willingness, even that doesn't come easily enough. Remember that the joy is commanded. There is no separation between delight and duty. Delight is our duty.

finding joy

been encountering Jonathan Edwards quite a bit lately... first through reading Desiring God by John Piper, then this evening at the Stephen Tong expository preaching... perhaps I should read this esteemed theologian myself. Interestingly, the sermon just now was given by another Reformed preacher from Indonesia today-and it touched on the balance that Christians should have between truth and emotion.

too oft we have seen the extremes: emotional expression almost to the point of fanaticism without the anchor of truth; or the dry and empty formalism of mere concepts and creeds, true though they be.... but how do we strike a balance?

like Piper, the preacher today also quoted Jonathan Edwards freely: and the main point seems to be: real joy and right feelings come only from the knowledge and understanding of the truth (this does not mean a mere logical understanding, but a real perceving of the truth). A Christian, having access to the truth through the Word, should apprehend it with real feeling through the Spirit who enlightens us to the truth. That is to say, no less - a Christian should be the happiest person today, because he has the most profoundly satisfying Object in the universe: God. (This kind of thinking rings throughout John Piper's words.)

But how then, really, does joy come?

1. Understanding and appreciating the sovereignty of God.
2. Knowing the most terrible obstacle to everlasting and infinite joy - not poverty, not suffering, not injustice, not those hurts we get from others - but sin against God.
3. Cultivating a life of thanksgiving and counting our blessings.
4. Submission to God's truth and His will. (I think in the psalms, we can see the sheer unabashed delight in obedience to God's law. Not dutiful submission, but DELIGHT.)

guess it's not for this little 1st post to elaborate on the above points. But i think that it's really worth thinking abt. Sometimes we fall into the trap of simply doing out of duty - but recently i'm being challenged that this is simply not enough. (which is why i think Aristotle is closer to the Bible than Kant as far as moral philosophy and an understanding of human virtue goes. But more of this next time, if I ever get down to doing such a comparison.)

meanwhile, i hope i havent scared away all potential readers. :)