By David Ryser
“Teach him what?”
These words were spoken to me by my
father when I was about six years old. He was
looking at me as if I’d just grown a third eye.
I suspect he looked at me like this a lot when I was growing up.
But I particularly remember this
incident because it later helped me to understand a certain scripture and apply
it to my life.
We were at the supper table. My parents were discussing the family
dog. This dog had been brought into our
home to be trained as a seeing-eye dog.
My dad had agreed to train the dog.
The dog would eventually serve a blind child. So the dog was placed with our family to be
trained and become accustomed to children.
His training had hit a snag.
The dog had developed a bad
habit. Nothing my dad tried had broken
this habit. When anyone would drive in
or out of our driveway, the dog would chase after the car.
Chasing cars is an undesirable
quality in a seeing-eye dog.
I listened to my parents discuss
this problem for awhile. Finally I spoke
up with typical six-year-old overstatement, “I hope that dog gets run over and
killed! That would teach him!” My dad got the strangest look on his face.
“Teach him what?”
We don’t learn lessons by dying
physically. Usually, we learn by
living. The only way the dog would
become a seeing-eye service animal was to learn obedience. If he failed, he might make a good family
pet. But he would never fulfill his
higher purpose.
If we are ever going to walk in our
God-ordained destiny, we must learn obedience.
And learning obedience involves suffering.
According to Hebrews 5:8, Jesus
learned obedience through the things He suffered. I don’t think this refers only--or even primarily--to
the cross. If a person is destined to
die on a cross, it seems to me that he would do well to learn obedience
beforehand. He would be trained by life
experiences in preparation for fulfilling his ultimate calling.
So how did Jesus suffer in life? And how did His suffering prepare Him to be
obedient to the call of God?
A good part of Jesus’ suffering
originated from the circumstances surrounding His birth. Joseph and Mary were not married when Jesus
was conceived. In the eyes of the people
in His hometown, Jesus was an illegitimate child. Imagine the scorn and ridicule Jesus and His
family had to endure.
But we don’t need to merely
speculate. An understanding of the Bible
and culture gives us plenty of clues concerning Jesus’ sufferings.
In Luke 2:41-50, we read about an
incident in Jesus’ life that occurred when He was twelve years old. This would have been about the time of His
bar-mitzvah. I am told that in Jesus’
day, a part of this ritual involved the father parading his son through the
streets of the village and proclaiming, “This is my son! I’m proud of him!”
But this parade was reserved only
for legitimate sons.
Imagine Jesus’ pain. And the pain of His parents, both of whom knew the
truth concerning His birth. It wasn’t
fair! It wasn’t just! It was wrong!
But it happened anyway.
So now Jesus is in the temple at Jerusalem beginning to do
the work He was called to do (Luke 2:49).
“I must be about my Father’s business” is a particularly poignant
statement when we are reminded that Jesus had no inheritance in Joseph’s home. Ordinarily the eldest son would inherit the
family business and be responsible to provide for his family upon the death or
incapacitation of his father.
Jesus was the eldest son. But Jesus was illegitimate. He was denied His inheritance, which then
fell to the next eldest son.
Ouch! Wounding!
Pain! Suffering! And it wasn’t even true!
Jesus left Jerusalem
with Joseph and Mary, and went back to Nazareth. He submitted to their authority. He worked at a business He would not
inherit. And He was denied the
opportunity to begin His heavenly Father’s business for 18 years!
Have you been denied the
opportunity to fulfill your God-given calling because you were under
authority? Was it painful? Did it hurt?
Did you chafe with frustration?
Did it make you bitter?
Who needs this? Jesus did.
So do we.
Jesus was denied the father’s
public pronouncement of approval at His bar-mitzvah. But He received it at His baptism. “You are My beloved Son; In You I am well
pleased” (Luke 4:22b, and again in Matthew 17:5b). He was denied His inheritance, but was also
freed from the responsibility of it.
When the time came to begin His earthly ministry, Jesus was not stuck
working in a carpenter’s shop. He was
free to do the Father’s will.
And He received an inheritance from
His heavenly Father (Hebrews 1:4).
The things Jesus suffered did not
destroy Him. They prepared Him and
positioned Him to fulfill His destiny.
The same is true for us.
The subject of God-ordained
suffering--and its benefits--was a common topic of apostolic preaching and
teaching (Acts 4:22; James 1:2-4; 5:10, 11; 1 Peter 1:6-8--among others). It is not so common in the tripe that passes
for preaching and teaching in the modern American Church.
How can we develop godly character
and minister God’s power if we won’t embrace suffering?
Suffering is not evil. It is uncomfortable. It is unpleasant. It is painful. But if we embrace it, suffering will act as a
tool of God to make us what we are destined to be. And it will enable us to do what we have been
called to do.
Just like Jesus.
Responses to this article are
welcomed. You may contact the author at drdave1545@yahoo.com
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