What could Paul be saying to us here? Well, we can say with certainty that the afflictions and suffering of Christ on the cross were sufficient to garner salvation for all who call on him in faith. So it is not that something required for salvation has not been accomplished by Christ. His sacrifice was enough. But what about the sufferings that Paul is talking about?
We can also be sure that Paul is not thinking that it is only he who suffers. Though he suffered considerably, he also is clear in teaching that anybody who follows Christ will suffer. So if our sufferings are not redemptive, that is they do not contribute in any way to our salvation, why should we experience suffering?
We often think that evil can be defeated by force. The greater the evil, the greater the force needed to defeat it. However, when Christ took on the greatest evil there has ever been, Satan, he defeated it by absorbing it. What I mean is that he took the hardest blows that evil could dish out and he absorbed it into himself. This is also what he taught his disciples to do when they would face evil.
If somebody is going to strike you on the cheek, turn the other cheek to them so that they can strike that cheek also. If somebody asks for your coat, you should give them your shirt as well. If a Roman soldier asked you to carry his back pack one mile, carry it two miles for him. This type of action is what destroys evil. Paul summed it up when he said, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
So what is it that overcomes evil? Evil is absorbed and overcome by loving your enemies and those who do evil. This is what Jesus is doing and this is what he is asking us to do as well. His mission is now our mission. “As the Father sent me, so I am sending you,” says Jesus to all his disciples. So true disciples of Christ should be absorbers of evil and not perpetrators of evil. When we see suffering and pain, the right response should be to do what we can to enter into the suffering and pain of the person suffering it. We too are called to be carriers of pain and suffering. Now this is not a very jazzy calling and one which most Christians shy away from. But none-the-less, it is our calling as Christians to actively bear the burdens of others and not to run away from them or isolate ourselves from them.
To some Christians this may not sound very inviting, yet this seems to be the clear teaching of Christ for his disciples. We should look around us and be more willing to find the hurting and the suffering in order to come along side of them and carry their burden with them. Engaging in this type of action is the great destroyer of evil, and it is within our ability to do.
If somebody is going to strike you on the cheek, turn the other cheek to them so that they can strike that cheek also. If somebody asks for your coat, you should give them your shirt as well. If a Roman soldier asked you to carry his back pack one mile, carry it two miles for him. This type of action is what destroys evil. Paul summed it up when he said, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
So what is it that overcomes evil? Evil is absorbed and overcome by loving your enemies and those who do evil. This is what Jesus is doing and this is what he is asking us to do as well. His mission is now our mission. “As the Father sent me, so I am sending you,” says Jesus to all his disciples. So true disciples of Christ should be absorbers of evil and not perpetrators of evil. When we see suffering and pain, the right response should be to do what we can to enter into the suffering and pain of the person suffering it. We too are called to be carriers of pain and suffering. Now this is not a very jazzy calling and one which most Christians shy away from. But none-the-less, it is our calling as Christians to actively bear the burdens of others and not to run away from them or isolate ourselves from them.
To some Christians this may not sound very inviting, yet this seems to be the clear teaching of Christ for his disciples. We should look around us and be more willing to find the hurting and the suffering in order to come along side of them and carry their burden with them. Engaging in this type of action is the great destroyer of evil, and it is within our ability to do.
