School days are here again…can fall be far behind?

School memories are a mixed bag. One of my least favorite memories is running to catch the bus, only to be tripped by the school bully. The gash on my hand didn’t hurt as bad as the bruise to my ego.

Why are some people so mean? Why, after all the years of working on “self-esteem”, psychology, new medications, and social work, do we still have bullies in school? Why, with our increased knowledge of human behavior, do we have more people in jail and prison than ever? Easy to label the problem as SIN, but we still have to deal with the suffering.

Paul writes in Colossians 1 “Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, the church.” I wrestle with how to understand this. Obviously Paul does not mean that the Cross is insufficient, that more suffering is required to atone for our sins. But somehow he claims that his suffering works for the good of the church.

What is it about suffering that can work out for the good? We’d just as soon avoid it all together. We might each have a different image of “the good life”, but rarely does it include suffering!

Could it be that in our suffering we can participate in the sacrificial nature of Christ? His sacrifice was much bigger than the cross. Jesus was constantly giving of himself for the sake of others. He viewed all of life, including his suffering, in the light of his highest goal – fulfilling God’s purpose.