The Privilege of Suffering

Philippians 1-2

Sounds odd that we have the privilege of suffering, but that is what Paul tells us... "For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him." What does it mean to have the privilege of suffering for Christ? How long is line? Are there lots of people waiting to exercise that privilege? Or, instead are Christians doing anything they can to avoid suffering?

From a personal perspective, I have to admit that suffering has always represented something that I wanted nothing of. Death wasn't something that I dreaded, but suffering, now that was different. I think that the loss of control associated with suffering is part of the stress. Suffering usually comes uninvited into our lives... out of our control... of course that is probably also why positive benefits are an outcome of suffering handled well.

When we are called to suffer for Christ, and step up to the privilege being offered, a new math comes into play. The outcome is not simply the sum of the parts, but rather Christ supplies a multiplier that makes it so worth it. The key to experiencing that success is exercising the trust on the front end of Paul's equation.