Were We Meant to Thrive?

Like so many terms, it depends on how you describe ‘thrive.’ The other day I took a break from teaching the book of Acts to our Radius students. I was curious if the students had any topics that came to their minds about what I should write about for this edition of the Radius Report. There were several good suggestions, some I honestly hadn’t thought of. But what surprised me the most was two married women who immediately raised their hands and said, in different ways, “When we go back to our friends, families, and churches we are constantly hearing something like, ‘Are you sure you want to do this (pioneer missions)? Are you happy? Are you sure this will bring you joy?’ Will you devote a Radius Report to the reasons why we (they spoke for their classmates also) are here being trained to do this difficult task?” As I said, there were a few other great topics suggested, but this one captured me. That was a couple of days ago.

Today as I sat in the doctors’ waiting room waiting to get my skin burned again (my penalty for surfing without sunscreen for decades and then still not wearing sunscreen in PNG) I was reading a book given to me by a Radius student, The Call to Joy and Pain by Ajith Fernando.  The author dove into the topic of how linked the two concepts – joy and pain – are for the Christian.  Or should be.  Paul writes from his jail cell, Colossians 1:24, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake…” James would write, as things got worse and worse in Jerusalem after Peter went into Cornelius’ house, 1:2, “Count it all joy, my brothers when you meet trials of various kinds.”  But still, Fernando states at the outset of his book¹, “…with the affluence and technological advancement of the twenty-first century, many have come to regard comfort and convenience as essential human rights.”  And he is not speaking of only the Western world.  He recalls being in Cambodia, where human life was decimated by the Khmer Rouge from 1975-1979, and giving a seminar on the sufferings of a Christian but even there while speaking on this subject the author was surprised by what he found, and I quote, “Strangely, even in Cambodia the teaching that Christians should not suffer at all seems to be growing.”²  Barely two generations have passed since the Cambodian holocaust and their memory is dimming.  Begging the question: does the church in the West even have memories of 2, 5, or 10 generations ago when Christians were wholesale persecuted and needed to expect suffering?

It is little wonder our students are asked the questions they referred to. I think I can speak for them that ‘their desires’ have very little to do with why they are here being trained; they have been compelled by the Word of God and the desire of their Savior to be known and worshiped among all nations.  As one student stated a few years back, “I can’t unsee what I’ve seen in God’s Word.”  That suffering is normative is not just a value that Radius teaches, it is also gleaned from the biographies they read, the adjuncts who come and share their experiences, and the testimony of the saints we see in Scripture. This is another reason we slowly walk through Acts, from the jailing of Peter and John in Acts 4, the jailing of the 12 and then their scourging in Act 5, which ends with their rejoicing!  Stephen’s stoning in Acts 7, in Acts 8:3 the destructive reign of terror that Saul unleased of the followers of Christ, and following Saul’s conversion the first message he would hear from the Lord, “I will show him how much he will suffer for my name”…which ended up being oh so true!

Not only were Paul’s sufferings predicted, but Paul would come to see them as the validation of the Spirit-empowered ministry he was doing. Any thoughtful read of 2 Corinthians 11:23-30, shows us that Paul is defending his ministry to his accusers not by means of citing how many converts he had, churches he planted, or “I’ve been in ministry 20 years!”  In these verses, and elsewhere, including Galatians 6:17, “From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of the Lord Jesus,” Paul’s actual defense of his legitimate ministry is based on his sufferings!

Jesus had predicted this would be the case for anyone who sees fruitful ministry. John 12:24, “Truly, truly (no exceptions) I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”  Dying to self in every way is the mandatory road to fruitful ministry.  In 2 Corinthians 6:4-6, Paul lists some of the qualifications for the legitimacy of his ministry.  Fernando summarizes this listing, “So Paul defended his credibility by listing nineteen kinds of suffering and nine aspects of his holiness. These are the two main means of winning the hearts of the people we lead: holiness and suffering for the cause.”³‍

Paul understood this was the Lord’s anointed way of being useful for His Kingdom work and he passed it on to all he brought to faith, Acts 14:22.  Our students realize this; they expect it. Not in a despondent, fatalistic way…but they understand the road to usefulness as His workers will entail suffering in a variety of ways, starting with walking away from their dreams, life plans, and aspirations.  In a Christian culture that passionately sings “we were made to thrive!”, these students have come to understand that Paul talked much about enduring (with joy) and nothing about thriving…in earthly terms.

Tim Keller wrote, “The idea that the prince of Heaven would empty himself and become poor, to live and dwell among us is humbling. The idea that there is nothing in the human experience that God himself has not suffered, even losing a child is sustaining.  And the idea that in His resurrection, Jesus’ scars became His glory is empowering. God will use these scars for His glory, as they become our glory!”⁴