“And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified… If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.” Jn 12: 23-26
Talking about following Christ, there is another perspective that we must not miss. The promise of honour and attaining to glory actually depend on it:
1. Jesus’ footstep– The first Apostles who heard Jesus say, “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies…” also witnessed it. Therefore Peter could say, “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps” 1 Pet 2:21. It is not surprising therefore that Peter himself, with the other Apostles, followed the footsteps of Jesus, of suffering for His name and for the Gospel. We, in this age, cannot be different. It is by this that they bore the mark of Christ as Paul testified “From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus” Gal 6:17. It was not a mark they bore with grumbling, it was their aspiration to be like Christ in this manner. “That I may know him…and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death” Phil 3:10. We, Christ’ followers, who live in the end of times, cannot be different. Our call is the same. To serve Christ, we must be willing and ready to suffer (through obedience to His will) for Him in this world that is opposed to Him who said to us, “Occupy till I come”[Engage in (Kingdom) business till I come] Lk 19:13. If we are truly aligned to Christ, we shall suffer-persecution 2 Tim 3:12
2. Path to glory– Jesus saw the end of His mission as Glory. But to get there He must suffer humiliation and death on the cross. Those who serve Him by following Him must take the same path. To be honoured by God, we must thread the path of suffering. The Saints of old used to have a saying. It was possibly a way of greeting or encouraging one another. Paul stated it in 2 Tim 2:11-13. But my focus is verse 12 “… If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:” To the faint hearted, these words are to give strength. To those whose hopes are fading, hope is renewed in the fact that there suffering is not meaningless. Glory awaits only those who suffer, who endure many and repeated hardships for Christ’s sake. The Scriptures cannot be more clear. The gospel of no pain has no gain nor glory. It is not what we receive that counts but what we endure for Christ as we follow His steps.
May we be awakened to see clearly what the LORD expects of His true servants. Amen!
Reflection Questions
- How have you resisted suffering for Christ in the past?
- What is Christ demanding of you now that may require that you suffer for His sake?
Grace and peace to you.