For a Christian, suffering is a privilege. By suffering, we render to God a glory which we could not render to Him otherwise. This is according to Adolphe Monod. "Those who suffer should commit their souls to God as to a Faithful Creator in well-doing." We cannot do it of ourselves: "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." This poses a life-long battle.

In order to break with sin, we must suffer. This is not a means of atonement. Christ chose sorrows and suffering. We cannot bear the pains which Jesus has borne. Pain is an essential part of the life of Jesus Christ. What we bear is in resemblance to Him. From St. Peter: "For as much then as Christ has suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the sans mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin."

Our suffering is a means to help others. St. Paul said, "I fill up in my body that which cometh behind in the suffering of Christ for His body's sake that is the Church." We see that, generally speaking, St. Paul suffered for the good of humanity and he wrote to Timothy: "In doing these things, thou wilt not only save thyself, but also those which hear thee.

Jesus Christ suffered; the more I suffer, the more I am like Him. Adoiphe Monod exclaimed to an intimate group around his sick bed: "As Jesus suffered in order to save, I must suffer to be a blessing to men and lead souls to see the Cross." "He never strikes us with a measure of suffering which our personal sins have not merited." We are basically and always sinners, even though we are sinners saved by His Grace. This is no escape mechanism, indeed as our faith in our Savior is not easy belief. Certainly, the more we love Him by our knowledge of His salvation, the more we sense our unworthiness, our fallen nature. By the power of our imagination, we cling to Him as He has hung on the Cross.

The Psalms are replete with David's sufferings and his sins. Psalm 38:3: "There is no soundness in my flesh because of my anger; neither is there rest in my bones because of my sin." "They are a burden too heavy for me." He speaks continually of his ills, his sickness, and his many enemies.

Sin in itself is the seeking of self: self-confidence, self-will, self- righteousness, self-glory. Much of our time is spent in seeking our own self- interest, even in what is good. In reading through Matthew 9, one becomes aware that Jesus went calmly about His good works one at a time, not one on top of the other but in perfect harmony with the will of God. There is peace in seeking to follow only in God's will. "I determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified."

"To suffer well is far more difficult than to act well. Holy suffering is the very crown of holy action," according to the philosopher Friedrich von Hugel. He suggested we have all our purgatory here on earth.

There are possibilities in suffering for discipline: the ability to rise above suffering for concentration: artists and writers testify to this. Suffering can mold a backdrop for single-minded achievement.
 
 
 

                                                                                                                Wallace Haines