What are You Willing to Suffer for the Church?

Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.

Colossians 1:24

To say that anything is lacking from the afflictions of Christ is a bold statement. To suggest that an imperfect human could fill up what is lacking there is bolder still. But that is exactly what Paul does in this passage. What does he mean?

Jesus' suffering (His perfect life, death and resurrection) accomplished all that is necessary for the salvation of men, women and children everywhere. There is nothing that any human could add, and yet some things are still lacking if the church is to become all that God has commanded us to be. So, God saw fit to give each of His children a role to play in the great salvation of the world. 

Some preach the gospel to men, women and children. Some give generously to support the work. Some are teachers who explain the Word and equip the saints to do good works. Some are servants who do credit to the faith by doing good deeds in their communities and on mission trips. Some are missionaries who take the word into places it has not been before. Some are administratively gifted and lead churches and missions movements. Some are encouragers who come alongside other believers and help them move forward in their faith. And there are many other ways to serve besides these mentioned. 

The church needs all these gifts! But whatever service you offer you can be sure that it will involve some level of suffering. You cannot give without making sacrifices. You cannot encourage or preach or teach or serve or lead without giving of your time, energy and your very own heart to those ministries. And when you serve in any of these ways you open yourself up to be criticized, rejected, judged, persecuted, held to a higher standard, put upon, and taken advantage of. And we are called to endure all of this "for the sake of His body, which is the church."

So, a question that I think needs to be asked of every believer is this- "What are you willing to suffer for the church?" Are you willing to give of your disposable income? Are you willing to give your free time? Are you willing to put yourself out there and risk being embarrassed? Are you willing to risk being misunderstood? Are you willing to be put upon and talked about and criticized by the imperfect people you are trying to serve? This is what it looks like to serve the church. It is a messy business filled with still imperfect people. And it requires filling up in yourself what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ. If you aren't willing to suffer, you won't make a difference. So again I ask, "What are you willing to suffer for the church?"