Have you ever sat and thought about your one true desire in life? The desire that drives all other desires. The desire that shows up in what you do in action and words. This one true desire of the soul will rule over everything else. Those around you know what it is by the things you do, the places you go, the conversations you have, and yes, even by the way you look.
Paul was well aware of the deep desire of His soul, and that was to be like Christ. When Christ revealed himself to Paul on the road to Damascus, there was no longer any doubt that Christ truly was the Messiah, God in the flesh. Until this time Paul had been a champion of the Jews. He persecuted Christians whose teaching and preaching revealed that Christ was God. He was committed to being the best Jew possible. Once he met Christ, that same zeal bled through everything he did. He understood the purpose of a Christian. The purpose for Paul, and us, after we are saved, is to show Christ to a lost and dying world by becoming as much like Christ as possible. Colossians 1:24 -2:3 reveals the roles Paul takes on that reveals Christ through Him. Philippians 3:10 says it best.
Philippians 3:10 “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;”
In Colossians 1:24 Paul begins by rejoicing in his sufferings. The first role represented in this passage is that of suffering. This verse is a continuation of 23. It ends with “I Paul am made a minister.”
Colossians 1:24 “Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:”
Our first response would probably be, no way, you can’t rejoice in your sufferings! While it may be hard for us to understand, it is what God expects from us. We are to rejoice in whatever situation we are in. When Paul is writing, he is in prison. Paul has captured the spirit of Jesus where happiness and persecution are linked together.
Matthew 5:10-12 “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”
Paul was so committed to becoming like Christ that he felt suffering was necessary. He wanted his life to resemble Christ. His whole desire, once he was saved, was that others would see Christ in him. With this desire in mind, nothing would deter him from pushing forward for Christ. Because he had wasted so much of his life before he met Christ, he now wanted to move forward in exalting, and becoming Christ-like as fast as he could.
Paul knew about the sufferings of the church and the messengers of Christ. After all, he was one of the greatest, most zealous persecutors of all time. Paul understood that ultimately his persecution was against Christ, not the Christians. On the road to Damascus Jesus asked him “why are you persecuting me?” Paul is honored that he can suffer for the church, but he knows nothing could measure up to the persecution of Christ. He was suffering for being God in the flesh, the perfect one. He did not suffer for any wrong he had done, but for the wrong, we have done. I was reminded by my husband, that we serve a just God, but His justice was not offered to His own Son. Jesus never sinned. If justice were served, He wouldn’t have suffered. The thought of Jesus suffering for him never left Paul’s mind.
He was willing to suffer, and actually welcomed suffering for the cause of Christ. He was determined to proclaim Christ to a lost and dying world no matter what the cost was to him physically. His determination would not be altered by anything, not prison, not physical afflictions, not even the threat of death. He did not see his suffering to amount to anything when compared to Christ, or to the reward of heaven that death would bring. Paul states it well in Romans 8:18
Romans 8:18 “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”
O that we would love Christ this much. I wonder how many more would come to know Christ if we lived willing, and welcoming, suffering for the cause of Christ.
