“I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you. But we must hold on to the progress we have already made.”
Do you want to know Jesus? Do you want to experience his death-defying power? Paul has some tough first steps for us in the process: (1) suffer, (2) die. Perfection comes when we embrace suffering and death as Jesus did. It’s counter-intuitive to embrace something in order to overcome it, but that’s how it works. The power is in our victory through suffering and death, not around it or over it or by way of a back door.
Paul was driven by mission. When suffering got hard, he looked to a prize of eternal significance. He already saw the fruits of his labor as the early church was spreading. The name of Jesus was becoming known around the world. How could he give up at that point? Even when things got hard and he was thrown in prison (where he was writing this letter), the ground the Gospel had gained was too much to lose.
Have you suffered for some part of God’s mission to spread the love of Jesus to the world? What have you given up in your life? What has made you uncomfortable? What suffering have you endured for the sake of eternal glory? American Christians sometimes adopt a false martyrdom when people find them offensive or don’t celebrate their holidays. That’s not suffering for the Gospel. Altering your life in some way, taking the hard road when easy would be, well, easy. That’s suffering. Risking your friends, your family, your job, your home for the sake of helping others find Jesus. It’s a challenge to me and I hope to you as well. It’s in those kinds of hard choices that we find maturity and freedom.