Here in Africa, and back in NA too, there are churches which have forgotten: how to lament; what it means to lose; the hard truth about following Jesus; the need to be generous in giving; the certainty of suffering as a Christian.
Paul reminds us of some of this in his letter to the church people in Philippi:
Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved – and that by God. For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have. (Phil 1.27-30)
The struggle that Paul talks of here does not necessarily mean death; he is talking about some of the normal penultimate things that might happen to a Christian. A job might be lost, friends might turn on you, you may be rejected in some circles, physical violence may even come against you, all because you confess to being a disciple of Jesus. Following Jesus, Paul takes it as a natural thing that Christian will suffer.
One writer said that since Paul was in Rome, he may have had the colosseum in view, where the gladiatorial games went on. When the fighters had finished they would look to the crowd, to see whether their thumbs would be pointing up or down – would they live or die. This scholar says that, for Paul, the thumbs-up sign has already been given by God in the fact of the church’s solidarity in the Spirit, and that they did not fear even in the midst of trials.
I do not have anything profound to say about this passage; my own sufferings have been slight to say the least. But from watching the M*slim-background church up-close here in Cameroon and Nigeria, I can affirm what Paul says. These people have suffered much – some of them even unto death – and they live under the shadow of oppression every day. Yet to the extent that they fear not, we can see that they are living in the favour of God.
Suffering has been granted to them, and they have received with grace. Would that we all might say the same.
J & S on Mission 