GRACE TO SUFFER

GRACE TO SUFFER  

"To you it hath been granted ... to suffer" Phil. 1:29

This is Paul's great singing letter. It was at Philippi that he had sung in prison at midnight, in the company of Peter. Now he was again in prison, this time in Rome, and writing to "the saints in Christ Jesus that are at Philippi." This letter thrills to the tireless music of a psalm. It is a glorious revelation of how life in fellowship with Christ triumphs over all adverse circumstances. The triumph, moreover, is not that of stoical indifference. It is rather that of recognition of the fact that all apparently adverse conditions are made allies of the soul and ministers of victory, under the domain of the Lord. "The things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the progress of the Gospel" exclaimed the Apostle. His very bonds opened the door of opportunity throughout the Praetorian Guard. It was this sense of the power of life in Christ which inspired the particular word which arrests us. In them, suffering it the behalf of Christ is referred to as at honor conferred, rather than a burden to be endured. It is something granted to the saint, as a privilege, the very granting of which is a favor, a gift of grace. To this conception all will agree who have ever really known what it is actually to suffer on behalf of Christ. They are not callous; the suffering is very real, very acute; but it brings a sense of joy, and gladness which finds no equal in human experience.