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When Suffering Comes When suffering strikes, we must not forget the God who holds all in His hands. Revelation 2:8-11 |
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Introduction: While we live relatively comfortably here, less than 13 hours away, citizens of Mozambique are just returning to what is left of the great flood. They are now facing an epidemic of diseases. One can imagine their pain and despair. In Houston we can think of the anguish and pain of the parent of the Asian youth that was shot dead in his convenience store. Or the parents of the 6 year old girl who was killed by a class mate in a Michigan elementary school. The fear and the feeling of defeat when an individual received the news that his cancer had returned. Then some of us may be experiencing emotional anger because of strained and broken relationships with some one close to us, or the job that you really wanted was given to someone due to unfair competition. Such anguish is also a form of suffering. Many of us certainly feel that we can identify with the title of a book written several years ago: When Bad Things Happen To Good People. It is frustrating, isn't it? The passage we read is about suffering. It's a letter written to the Christians at Smyrna. Of the 7 churches, the Smyrna church was the only one that was not rebuked by Jesus. This was a suffering church. It will benefit us greatly to hear what Jesus had to say to the Christians at Smyrna. Lets look at some background information about this city. Smyrna was an important seaport, and the birthplace of Homer. This city was destroyed in 700 B.C. 400 years later, Alexander the great, rebuilt it into a model Greek city. The rebuilt Smyrna was beautiful and was called the "First of Asia". It had a famous stadium, library and the largest public theater in Asia. In John's time, the population was about 200 thousand. There was a famous street from east to west of the city with numerous temples to the various Greek gods on both sides. These temples created a very dramatic visual effect, and the area was called, "Crown of Smyrna". Smyrna was a place of advanced culture, where art, philosophy and religion flourished. During different periods in her history, Smyrna had remained loyal to the Roman Empire. Competing with 11 other cities, it won the permission to build the first temple to honor Emperor Tiberius. It became the center of emperor worship. Around AD 81 to 96, under emperor Domitian, emperor worship became compulsory for every Roman citizen. Once a year, a Roman citizen was required to burn incense on the altar to a Caesar's head sculpture and say, "Caesar is Lord". Then he would receive a certificate stating that he had completed the requirement. Many Christians refused to do so, and were consequently persecuted. In AD 156, Bishop Polycarp of Smyrna was burned at age 86. He was known as the 12th martyr in Smyrna. He was told to say, "Caesar is lord." Instead he said," For 86 years I have served Christ, and he has never done me wrong. How can I blaspheme my king who saved me?" Smyrna was a dangerous place to be a Christian. How about the church at Smyrna? We don't know when it was founded. By the time this letter was written, it was already quite well established. There were bishops, elders and deacons. Today's scripture reading also tells us that this was a suffering church. What can we learn from them? I. Suffering is expected in life. v9, "我知道你的患難、你的貧窮、" The word '患難' had been translated as persecutions. It literally means crushing pressures. The original meaning of 貧窮is: having nothing. Its important to know that Jesus put these two words together, "我知道你的患難、你的貧窮、". The Smyrna Christians refused to worship the emperor; therefore they didn't receive that certificate, and job opportunities were denied. This was how they might have been discriminated in that society, experiencing crushing pressure, and great financial difficulties. This is especially ironic in that prosperous city. While the majority of the citizens were well to do, Christians lived in poverty. Their neighbors were wealthy, but they lived in poverty. It was both financial and emotional hardship. In v9b,"I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan." Slander means unfair abuse. They were treated unfairly by certain groups of Jews in that city. The government brought them afflictions and poverty. And maybe even worse, their fellow citizens unfairly treated them. Moreover, v10, 你將要受的苦你不用怕 ………." Because of their faith, their loyalty to Jesus Christ, they had suffered at the time of John's writing this letter. But now, they were told of the suffering that was to come. Their suffering was like one wave after another, as if there is no end to it. In
James 1:2,"Whenever you face trials of many kind...." The emphasis
here seems to not be on "if you face trials......" but
"when". From the biblical perspective, suffering is a part of life,
part of reality, to be expected. Jesus said, "在這世界上你們有苦難."(John
16:30) This sounds simple but may come as a surprise to some of us. We probably have heard this many times, "Why should this happen to me? What have I done to deserve all this?" Someone shared with me about a book he was reading. The author mentioned that sometimes we live under the illusion that we would not be offended by anyone. Therefore when we are offended, we could hardly stand up to face it. The same is true with suffering. We may live under the illusion that pain, hardships, and crushing pressure should not happen to us. Its not right, its not fair. But God's world teaches us that suffering and pain are a part of life. There are times when we too experience pain because of faith in Jesus Christ. In some parts of the world, there are Christians who suffered, put in prison because of their faith in Jesus Christ. We may be made fun of, receive silent treatment from colleagues at work or at school. I think you know what it is like when you try to talk about your Christian faith in your philosophy or sociology class. In this country, when a politician made a statement about his personal faith in Jesus Christ, the media immediately responded with skepticism, calling it a religious card. However, in a broader sense, at different times, we also experience crushing pressures in life. It could be sickness and tragedy. It could also be unemployment, financial hardships or painful relationships with people we care. These things happen to Christians and non-Christians. You see, we live in a broken world. Or in the words of Francis Schaeffer, it is a ruined glory. When God first created the world, it was perfect, it was meant to reflect His glory. There was no pain or suffering. But because of man's deliberate disobedience, the world was broken, and the glory ruined. Pain and suffering have now become a regular part of the scenery. Our passage today also sheds some light on some causes of suffering. 1. Human Level. and the result is against our will, against God's will. Those in authority could decide that Christians are threatening the society's stability, therefore needing to be controlled. Or a drunken driver crashing and killing innocent people. Some suffer because dishonest people are taking advantage of the elderly and the innocent. There are also other crimes of murder and rape. Some suffer from AIDS because of promiscuous sexual behavior. Or a mother passing HIV or other diseases to their innocent children. These are pain and sufferings resulting from human choices and decisions. 2. Cosmic Level. But in this Revelation passage, we're told that there's another level of suffering. That's the cosmic level. Again, v9,10, ".....撒但... 魔鬼..."It is revealed for the first time in Revelation that some sufferings have their ultimate source in Satan, the devil. I can think of an incident that happened almost 40 or more years ago in a village in Taiwan. A young pastor was called to plant a church in a certain village. He got married soon after he arrived there. His young bride romantically asked, "What shall we do for our honeymoon?" With little hesitation he said, "We'll do open air evangelism tomorrow." That is preaching in the streets. Grudgingly she followed his lead. Half way through their singing and preaching, people started to jeer at them. And suddenly, someone poured a bucket of stuff on them. The smell was unbearable. It was a bucket of fertilizers. Yes, the attack was from a man, but Satan was the ultimate source, using sinful man to achieve his purpose. What do we do when bad things happen to us? II. God knows our circumstances. v9," 我知道..... 我知道..." These two words "I know" is very interesting. At times it conveys a message of judgment and brings about fear. Like parents saying to the child, "I know you ate those cookies." or the IRS says to you, "I know you have not been honest in your 1040 form." But other times it brings comfort and encouragement. Like parents saying to the child, "I know it must hurt a lot. I know you are tired." You probably recall some incidents in which you are so angry because you perceive the other person is totally unaware of your struggles. All you really needed in those moments was to hear, "I know what you are going through." This is what the Christians at Smyrna must have felt when they read these words, "我知道你的患難、你的貧窮、…….也知道那自稱是猶太 人所說的毀謗話、..."The words 'I know' are comforting. The Smyrna Christians were reminded that God knew what they were experiencing. We can also take heart in this. For those of us who are suffering, we maybe frustrated at God's apparent silence, or in agony we have shouted at Him, "Where are you? Do you know what's happening down here?" In the midst of our adversities, Jesus says to us, "Yes, I know your situation. I know what you are going through." III. Suffering is bound by God's boundaries. There is more than just knowing. v10, 你將要受的苦你不用怕．...... 你們必受患難十日。" It's hard to know exactly what 10 days referred to. But one can safely interpret it as there being a limit to the coming persecution. There was a beginning and an end. V8,"These are the words of him who is the first and the last, who died and came to life again." The Smyrna Christians knew that their city was the the beginning and the end. He had the final word. They must look at their suffering in this context. On both sides was bound by God. "first of Asia." Here Jesus reminded them that He was the first and the last. He was Isn't this true in our lives also? When we suffer, the worst feeling is that it seems to last forever. It never ends. But here we're reminded that there is a beginning and an end. Our suffering is limited by God's boundaries. Isn't this what we read in those familiar passages? Ps23," 我雖然走過死陰的退幽谷," I walk through, not staying there forever. The valley, though dark as it is, is still bound by God. Is.43:2," 你從水中經過、我必與你同在" It does not say that when you stay in that water, I will be with you, but as you pass through the waters. There's an end to it. This is also our comfort. Our sufferings, pain, difficulties plus those crushing pressures will not last forever. God is at the beginning; he is also at the end. This is our hope. IV. Words of encouragement during suffering. We have seen that suffering is a part of life. God is totally aware of our circumstances and our suffering is bound by His boundary. Here are the words of comfort for the suffering ones. Isn't this true in our lives also? When we suffer, 1. Do not be afraid. v10, "你不用怕..." In the midst of suffering and pain, there'll be plenty of fear. Such as the fear of the unknown, the fear of change. Sometimes this fear can paralyze us, making us unwilling to try different options. Here Jesus is telling us to not be afraid. If I am to tell you don't be afraid, its going to be OK. This probably won't mean too much. But when the one who is the first and the last, the one who died and came back to life says don't be afraid, then it's different. When he says don't be afraid, he means that not only he knows what you are going through, he is also telling you that he is with you. He'll see to it that this will come to an end. Surrounded by such security, we'll have the strength to handle our daily pain and frustrations, the courage to venture out and try different options. We don't even have to be afraid of changes and uncertainty surrounding us. Because Jesus tells us that the one within us is bigger than the exterior world. 2. Be faithful. In the midst of suffering, it's so easy to give up. In one of the memories of the Holocaust, the following statement was recorded. "The day I left the concentration camp, I also left God behind." Suffering can cause us to compromise and give up our faith in God. But it can also help us to get closer to God. Here Jesus told the Smyrna Christians, don't give up, hang in there. He also urged them to look at life from a different perspective. Yes, from the human perspectivemiserable and , they were in dire poverty. They were in destitution. It was unbearablesaid you are . But God says, wait, the world doesn't have the final say. Who poorhave. But ? You see, the real gauge is not how much you have or how little you whatone who 's in you is what really counts. So when God is with me, when I have the owns and controls everything, I am as rich as any millionaire. What is the reward for being faithful? Everyone in Smyrna knew about the "crown of Smyrna". But Jesus said, I'm going to give you something that's even more important and precious. I'll give you the "crown of life". Today we see the ruined glory, but one day, it will be full glory. So don't let adversity knock you down. Do not be afraid, be faithful. Conclusion: When we suffer, we're to remember that suffering is a part of our lives. It can happen to us or to anyone. But we also need to know that God is totally aware of what we are going through. Our suffering is bound by God's boundaries: his grace and love. This is the basis for us not to be afraid of our circumstances and to remain faithful to the one who died and came back to life. Remember the preacher who received the manure treatment during their honeymoon? They did not give up. They continued to serve faithfully in that village until a church was established. Some of us maybe suffering from physical and emotional pain, or financial hardship. It's not right for me to say to you, don't worry, its going to be OK. May I encourage you to listen to Jesus words. He is saying, "I know what you are going through. There is an end to it. Don't be afraid, don't give up."
Rev. William Hsueh March19, 2000 Houston Chinese Church, Houston, Texas |
