Hear the Apostle Paul as he writes to young Timothy. Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.  But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. 2 Timothy 2:3 – 4,5

I am reluctant to leave 2 Timothy!  So, I tarry again in the heart of the story – the relationship between being free in Christ and being bound, so to speak, to lift up Christ no matter what, even if suffering comes.    Sit here with me, please.

In my own life I had no idea what I was getting into when I fled to Jesus to have my sins forgiven.  It was heaven on earth!  The miracle of what the Blood of Christ could do for me just astounded me.  I was on cloud nine, as they say.  Wow, free of sin, a friend of Jesus, lots of new brothers and sisters – an avalanche of blessings overcame me.  I think the best was knowing that my sins are forgiven and that I am now on an entirely new basis with God, an openness that I would have never dreamed possible.

I lived in the glory of that grace that gave me the power to forgive and to move forward.  In retrospect, that was a wonderful way to establish my new faith.  Of course, I knew that I would face new problems because of what was happening to me but that did not disturb me greatly.

Only later did I learn that one side of discipleship is to enjoy oneness with God through Christ, the other, I found, was suffering because of my identity with Him.  It seemed to me that there must be some conflict between my sense of freedom and the realization that my walk with God will, inevitably and often, entail suffering that at first glance seems to conflict with my freedom.

If I fear suffering I will certainly collapse.  Also, if the joy of walking with Jesus grows cold I am indeed most miserable. Enabled by the Spirit of the Lord I must and do embrace both – freedom and suffering.  I am reminded that Jesus embraced both even though with difficulty.  He is in me to do it again!

Would you agree?