1Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. (Isaiah 53:1-3)
Thoughts: This passage is classically described as a prophecy of "The Suffering Servant." Christians see this fulfilled to a tee in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus himself hinted at this several times (Mk. 10:45; Lk. 9:22; Jn. 1:10-11; 3:16-19, et al.). God came in a rare way- He came to us and we did not believe His message. Instead of believing we made the Messenger- God Himself suffers. Though we despised Him and held Him in low esteem, Jesus Himself did not give up His confidence in His message of hope and love and His confidence in who He was. In the end, it is not the applause or approval of humans that is most important. If we know God approves of what we do, then the approval of others pales in value.
Jesus came to suffer. Suffering in itself can be and often is redemptive. Suffering is not just chaotic pain. Nor is the purpose of suffering simply to motivate us to work hard so others will suffer less. Truth is- all will suffer. Good people and bad people. All will die (unless the Lord comes back first). Too many act as if they are surprised that the good suffer. Christians should not be surprised. After all- Jesus the holy and loving mand suffered. The question is, how will we handle our suffering. We should listen to this message of one who came to suffer on our behalf. He gave Himself fully for us. Suffering hurts, and the Bible does not deny the reality of it (unlike some religions that say suffering is an illusion). It is to be faced. It is to be fought. We should recognize that one day suffering and sorrow will end. But it is also to be listened to. Often suffering is as C.S, Lewis put it, "an alarm clock" to wake us up to what is really important. It changes our perspective. Suffering can break us- if we turn from hope and God's way, but if we listen in the midst of it, suffering can make us into better people.
Jesus came to suffer. Suffering in itself can be and often is redemptive. Suffering is not just chaotic pain. Nor is the purpose of suffering simply to motivate us to work hard so others will suffer less. Truth is- all will suffer. Good people and bad people. All will die (unless the Lord comes back first). Too many act as if they are surprised that the good suffer. Christians should not be surprised. After all- Jesus the holy and loving mand suffered. The question is, how will we handle our suffering. We should listen to this message of one who came to suffer on our behalf. He gave Himself fully for us. Suffering hurts, and the Bible does not deny the reality of it (unlike some religions that say suffering is an illusion). It is to be faced. It is to be fought. We should recognize that one day suffering and sorrow will end. But it is also to be listened to. Often suffering is as C.S, Lewis put it, "an alarm clock" to wake us up to what is really important. It changes our perspective. Suffering can break us- if we turn from hope and God's way, but if we listen in the midst of it, suffering can make us into better people.
Prayer: Lord, let me listen to the hope found in your pain. As I listen, let me find hope in my own pain.
No comments:
Post a Comment