Suffering to Serve

Which do we do better, rejoice with those who are honored or suffer with those who suffer?

If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.- 1 Corinthians 12:26

Paul talks about the members of the body, the arms, legs, eyes, etc., giving us a picture of ourselves as the Body of Christ, the Body of God's Children.

He wants us to see how we should react to the pains and glories encountered by our fellow members, the way the body suffers and revels in the experience of its parts.

Sometimes, though, I think we do a better job on the glory than on the pain.  We raise up our heroes and pity our downtrodden.

What should we do?

Do we need to suffer to serve?

I think that in some ways we do.  To follow the metaphor, something as small as a paper cut is felt throughout our body and it is at best an annoyance until it heals.

But there are ways to deaden the pain, drugs that block the nerves from getting their messages to the brain, and we can continue to function as if nothing is wrong, as if we are not wounded.

I think many would agree that the body of humanity is sorely wounded and we seem to be on painkillers.

Those who are not desensitized to the pain take to the streets looking for someone in authority to do something, like agitated nerve endings screaming out for the brain to tell the body what to do.

But the brain is not getting the messages.  It is asleep or otherwise engaged.

Just as a person who suffers severe trauma shuts down all senses and goes into a coma, existing in a dream state rather than facing reality, we have lost our leadership and direction from those we have entrusted with the job.

Jesus didn't put his trust in the leaders of the Temple to take care of the sick and abandoned.  He didn't but his faith in Rome.  He gathered a few together and said, "Let's do this."

He built a new body with a heart and soul as well as a brain.

That body is not dead.  It is alive and ticking.  And it is in need of new members.

In this age of millennials who seek social justice, we who have become settled into our comas need to engage the young who don't know the purpose of our ministry is to help those in need.

Perhaps we don't remember that purpose and have fallen asleep.  We are not suffering to serve those in need.  We are not feeling the pain of the attacks on the body.

All throughout the world there are young leaders of all faiths looking to make a difference and they need us more seasoned members to join them.  It is their world now, and we should find a way to come together as servants to help them take ownership.

Or we will all be suffering alone.

More to come...