Suffering

A couple of weeks ago, I was privileged to preach to a particular congregation (my third time in their pulpit) about the sufferings of Christ. We are clearly instructed that we are to share in His sufferings and to follow Him in His example. I took (and hold) the position that the suffering He endured through the Calvary experience is not the example we are to follow.

True, many have endured and many will endure torture and even death for their faith in Christ, but the vast majority of us will not and never will experience that kind of suffering. So then, what form is our suffering to take?

Jesus showed us when He washed the disciple’s feet. In that day, feet got covered with every sort of filth imaginable. There was no foot deodorant. The Lord and Master lowered Himself to wash twelve sets of stinky, dirty feet including the feet of Judas who would betray Him. He told them, “Do as I have done for you.” He wasn’t instituting the sacrament of foot washing.

Philippians chapter 2 tells us the He did not consider being God a thing to hold onto. He voluntarily suffered the loss of the right to be God on the throne to become a man. As a man, He voluntarily gave up every right in order to lower Himself beneath every one of us for our benefit. He saw our need and did not hesitate to suffer the loss of all of His rights to meet that need. God so loved the world….. This is Agape love. This is the example of suffering we are called to follow. It is not an option.

Tonight (Sunday) I am sharing with them again. I will talk about what happens when we Agape-love. When we show Agape, we shine a spotlight on God. We draw attention to Him. We glorify Him. When God is glorified, people are drawn to Him. We are the light of the world, a city set on a hill. Our Agape behavior reveals a magnificent, powerful, merciful, good, and loving God to the world. Our good behavior is building God’s reputation. The inhabitants of Jericho (Joshua 2:9-11) melted in fear of the Israelites because of God’s reputation. What sort of reputation are we giving Him today?

The pastor of this church, Pastor Salomón, has become one of our English students. So have his number one man Manólo and his family. This congregation is a humble, loving bunch of people with a hunger for God. Manólo leads worship with a worn out guitar that uses a string and bungi cord for a strap. It is anointed. It is an honor and a privilege to share with them.  The building where they meet is essentially four walls with a corrugated plastic roof with holes in it and ceiling fans. In spite of or maybe because of the humble surroundings, one can sense God’s presence in these people.

Semi-sadly, our rescued kitten left us this week. She had gone from a week-old orphan to a frisky, playful and affectionate companion. In short, she was adorable. I confess that I am not a big cat lover, but this little one became quite special. Donna had grown very attached. For a number of reasons we could not keep her. With the help of our friend and neighbor Susan, she was adopted as an inside cat (rare in Mexico) by a very nice couple. She will have a good home. Adios Meow-zer.

We got the opportunity to go to the beach this week. Conditions for snorkeling were perfect and there was an amazing variety of different sea creatures. At one point, a large Manta Ray came close to us. It was beautiful. I am especially blessed by things like that because one of my main pathways to God is nature.