MondayMatters Lent: Day Two
Colossians 1:24-29 “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. 25 I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— 26 the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. 27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. 29 To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.”
“That’s enough about you, let’s talk about me.” I say that often in the counseling room. It is an attempt to bring a little levity into a heavy place. It is also a way of addressing hard issues without sounding accusatory or attacking. Usually, after I have used some self-deprecating illustration of wrong behavior, I will flip the script by saying, “You know, whenever I’m talking about me, I’m really talking about you.” 😊
Paul uses that technique often. He refers to his own story to remind his readers of where they fall short or what might be required of them. Here, his past suffering says we should all be about the Body of Christ and not just our own comfort. My job, your job, our job is to face any hard issue; financial loss, physical waning, political discontent, relational strife, as an example to the world that “Christ in us” is the only hope we have for getting through the suffering of life.
During this Lenten season, my guess is you will do a little suffering. It might be mild, not worth mentioning, more of an inconvenience. Or it might max out on the Richter Scale, earthquake proportions with aftershocks to follow. In either case, it’s not about you. It’s about Him and them. See those tests as chances to form a testimony. Use the messes to open the door to ministry.
I was called to ministry as a young man. I made a mess of things and lost the right to work in the institutional church. But the call to use that mess to demonstrate the goodness of God has not diminished. Like Paul, “to this end I strenuously contend.” And in fact, my suffering has been my greatest gift. But, “that’s enough about me, let’s talk about you.” 😊
When the hard stuff happens, remember the mystery, “Christ in YOU the hope of GLORY.”