Colossians 1:24-27
For You
24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings
for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's
afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 of which I became
a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you,
to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and
generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known
how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which
is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
ONE constant theme in the New
Testament lattes, particularly in Paul’s and Peter’s writings, is the great
sense of responsibility as Paul writes, “to make the word of God fully known”.
Both Apostles write often of suffering to make God’s name known. Both men suffered
unbelievable atrocities. The Apostle James died by a sword, and the Apostle
John was exiled on Patmos, a desolate island, when he received the Revelation of Jesus Christ.
The
unpleasant truth is that suffering is necessary to advance the Gospel. Jesus’
suffering on the cross unleashed a torrent of demonic activity that strives to
destroy the Mission of God on earth. The devil is in a death struggle, and he
knows he will lose. He’s the wounded, raging bull who strives to kill before he
is killed.
What
every Apostle knew and what every person who has suffers today for Jesus Christ
knows is this: the Gospel “reveals the
riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
Eternity
is worth the suffering.
A Moment’s Thought: Suffering brought
the Gospel to you.
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