Philippians 1.29 - God's gracious gifts...

"Because to you it was granted on behalf of Christ, not only to be trusting unto Him, but rather also to be suffering on behalf of Him."

paul mentions two grace gifts, two ways that God has shown His mercy and undeserved favor to those who follow Jesus.  the first is that He gave them faith in the first place.  faith is a gift.  it is not something we earn.  it is not something at which we arrive completely on our own.  Scripture makes it quite clear that trusting in the Lord it is not something which someone can do without the kind enabling of God’s grace (cf acts 5.31, acts 11.18, romans 2.4, 2timothy 2.25, ephesians 2.5, ephesians 2.8).  but this first grace gift is one that most are glad to receive.  the second, however, is rather more dubious.  paul says that suffering is a gift.  it is a favor of sorts, a gracious gift from the Lord which He gives to those who receive that first gift of faith (matthew 5.10-11).  the word is pascho.  it is the word which Jesus and the NT writers used repeatedly to describe what He experienced on and leading up to the cross (matthew 16.21, luke 24.46, acts 3.18, hebrews 2.18, 1peter 2.23).  He was the paschal (Passover) Lamb of God, the One God sent to be sacrificed to pay for the sins of the entire world (genesis 22.8, exodus 12.21-22, isaiah 53.7, john 1.29, 1peter 1.19).  and for those who follow Jesus, suffering is normative (2timothy 3.12).  Jesus Himself promised it (john 15.20).  it is not only a litmus test of sorts (cf romans 8.17 - true faith which is God-given will outlast any oppostition), but it is the part of the heritage of the people God chooses.  history is replete with an innumerable list of souls who have suffered for/as a result of their faith in the God of abraham, isaac, and jacob.  some are household names.  many are known only to the One Who rejoices to be called their God (hebrews 11.32-38).  it is actually said that more people were killed in the 20th century because they were following Christ than in the previous 19 centuries combined, and the trend continues.  read about it at www.persecution.com.  suffering for the Name of Jesus, for the sake of Jesus, is guaranteed for those who follow Him, but so is ultimate victory (luke 21.12-19, romans 8.35-37).  sadly, many of God’s people in the west know very little of this second gift of grace.  while a post-modern, humanistic, pluralistic, relativistic, narcissistic ethos increasingly prevades the cultural landscape, the church is mostly prosperous, mildly accepted (and/or dismissed), and very comfortable.  would it be fair to even suggest that at some level if the world is not pushing back, then God’s people are perhaps not pushing hard enough? 

and there is yet another way in which suffering can be seen by believers as a gracious gift from God.  remember that we were designed and are destined for paradise.  we are bent and driven towards comfort and ease.  we want trees full of low-hanging fruit, all our ducks in a row, and everything to go according to plan.  we want to live in the promised land.  we long for life that is free from pain and trial and hardship.  what that really is, however, is a dangerous place to be in this life.  it is in fact a life which is devoid of opportunities to really trust the Lord for His power and provision.  the normal challenges and extra-ordinary challenges of life are in fact God-given gifts of grace that provide us with new opportunities to be on our knees and kept at a place where we are essentially forced to trust wholly in the Lord and lean on Him for wisdom and strength and provision.  a life which is devoid of these challenges, a life devoid of suffering and need would be paradise, to be sure, but in this life it would allow us too much room to cease depending on the Lord for daily bread.  “give us this day our daily bread” is more than just a mantra - it reflects a life and a heart which is remaining at an appropriately high level of trust and abiding and dependence.  so watch out!  (deuteronomy 6.4-13)  is my life hard today?  am i facing an extraordinary challenge of some kind?  this is in fact a gracious gift from the Lord in the form of an opportunity to trust Him and lean more fully into Him for wisdom and power and provision.  and it is why we are able to not only rejoice always and thank God IN every circumstance (1thessalonians 5.16-18) but also thank Him FOR every circumstance (cf philippians 4.6-7).  this level of gratitude recognizes these grace-gifts and also demonstrates our trust in the Lord - in His sovereignty and power, in His goodness, that He knows what He’s doing and is faithfully working out the good plan He has for our lives (cf psalm 139.13-16).  oh, for the grace to live more fully into this truth every day.  i have a long, long way to go.