Day 9

<sup>Philippians 1

27</sup>Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, ²⁸and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. ²⁹For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, ³⁰engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

v. 29 and 30 are pretty straight-forward. It's not enough just to believe. In fact, he says "it has been granted to you" - in other words it is a privilege. The New Living Translation says "²⁹ For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him." Privileged. We know we are His chosen people, that He loves us and cares for us, that we are set apart. But I think we too often think of this as only good things. We don't see suffering as a privilege. And why should we? Suffering hurts. No one wants to suffer. Suffering, pain, death - aren't they all the result of sin? God doesn't wish bad for his children, does He?
Never. Suffering may be a result of sin. When you sin there are consequences that you may suffer. But there's another type of suffering as a result of sin. Because we live in a sinful, fallen world, those who are righteous, upright, blameless, followers of truth will suffer at the hands of the sinful. The gospel offends people. Jesus says in Luke 12:50-52 "⁵¹ Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division." Just by living lives that are pleasing to Christ we offend people and thus should expect to "suffer" social consequences from those people. For some of us, suffering will be physical; others emotional. There are so many different ways to "suffer", but to suffer is to be identified with Christ and His suffering at the hands of the unrighteous for our sins.