Would you step out of the boat to walk on the water like Peter?
Would you sacrifice your career and reputation as Jairus did, in order to save the life of his daughter?
Would you take 3 friends and dig a hole through a 2ft thick rooftop to lower your sick friend to Jesus for healing?
Would you forsake what you’ve been taught about God from little up, to preach the Grace of Jesus as Paul did? Paul knew clearly that he would be persecuted greatly because of it.
So, what does it mean to SUFFER for Jesus?
Mark 8:31 says, “And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.”
Suffering for Jesus has nothing to do with being sick, or poor, or any other effects of sin and Satan in this world.
Jesus said in Mark 8:35, “For whoever will save his life shall lose it; but whoever shall lose his life for My sake and the gospel’s, he shall save it.”
Suffering for Jesus is simply…Rejection from others for the sake of the TRUTH.
My understanding of Mark 8:35 is this:
“Whoever will seek only to preserve their perceived acceptance from others, shall lose access to the very POWER that Jesus died to give us…but…The Power of God comes to anyone willing to be rejected by others for the sake of Jesus and the Good News that He died to save us from ALL effects of sin.”
This happens as a result of the FAITH and LOVE required to even walk in this reality to begin with.
Quit playing it SAFE and RISK it all on Jesus. Trust Him to faithfully do what He promised to do, and you will find a more intense power for life than anything you’ve ever thought possible.
I’m going to leave you with a quote by Marianne Williamson that has deeply affected how I see myself and God in this world.
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.”
