Philippians 1:29-30
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.
CONSIDER THIS
For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him.
The gospel comes in two massive movements: believing and becoming. We believe in Jesus. We become like Jesus. Christ suffered on our behalf and he grants to us the gift of suffering on his behalf. We must learn, though, what Jesus means by suffering. It is quite simple. Suffering, in the vision of the gospel, means love.
The first half of the Gospel flows from John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
The second half of the Gospel, perhaps serendipitously, issues from 1 John 3:16: “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.”
We see these two movements powerfully summarized in today’s text: For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him.
The path between believing and becoming is called the way of the cross. It brings us to another word beginning with the letter b: belonging. The way of the cross is the way of belonging to Jesus. To belong to Jesus means to become identified with him. It means ceasing to belong to the world and its pattern. To belong to Jesus is the pathway to becoming like him. “Christ in you,” is the way Paul captures it (Col. 1:27). Suffering for him is nothing to be afraid of. The world has trained us to fear this word. Jesus will show us there is actually no better place on earth.
Buckle your Bible belts, my friends. This is where we are headed. For now, let this be your walking-around, breath prayer: “Jesus I belong to you.”
I want us to say it over and over and over until we find ourselves praying it.
Jesus, I belong to you. Jesus, I belong to you. Jesus, I belong to you. Jesus, I belong to you. Jesus, I belong to you. Jesus, I belong to you. Jesus, I belong to you. Jesus, I belong to you. Jesus, I belong to you. Jesus, I belong to you. Jesus, I belong to you.
Say a word of it with each step.
Believing and becoming. The way is belonging.
THE PRAYER
Abba Father, we thank you for your Son, Jesus, through whom you have determined to belong to us . . . to me. Grant me the gift of giving my life to him. I want to belong to Jesus. I know it will mean no longer belonging to myself. This scares me, but, honestly, it scares me more to not go this way. Come, Holy Spirit, and grace me to walk in this way anew. We pray in Jesus’ name, amen.
THE QUESTIONS
- What do you make of this framework of the two halves of the gospel: believing and becoming?
- Why does the word suffering strike terror in us? Could it be because we belong to ourselves too much?
- Are you ready to enter a new chapter of belonging to Jesus? Will you begin with the simple breathing and walking prayer today? Will you make it a holy obsession?
For the Awakening,
J.D. Walt
Sower-in-Chief
seedbed.com
P.S. – You can order a hard copy of this series here.
2 Responses
I understand these concepts of believing, becoming and belonging as the process of “participation in the divine nature “, as per 2 Peter 1:3,4. By grace through faith in the sacrifice of Chris, we receive imputed righteousness. By grace through the gift of the Holy Spirit, we receive imparted righteousness. Both are the gifts of the Father. The Trinity is totally involved in all. I believe the reason we fear the word “suffering “ is the resistance of our flesh to the pruning needed to make us more fruitful as per John 15:1,2. Count me in.
Yep! Been there done that! It has not been pretty!