Sufferng Well for Jesus

As I meditated on Paul's imprisonment in Rome, I was reminded of a time I went

to jail.

My car had been hijacked a week earlier and the thief ripped out my key ignition.


When I finally got the car back, I had to use the end of a spoon handle to start my car. Well, one of these “spoons” happened to be in my sink when I accidently spilled some

"Liquid Draino" on it.

One day later, I was parked on the wrong side of the road to check my mail. Then he came.

The cop from hell.

He gave me a lecture and then noticed the discolored spoon in the passenger seat. Instantly, his nostrils flared. His next words.

GET OUT OF THE CAR, NOW!

I had no idea why, but I thought, I was on Candid Camera.

Really.

I searched frantically for the cameras!

As I got out the car, he ordered me to the ground and placed his knee on my back. I was handcuffed, I was jerked me up like a rag doll, I was read my Miranda rights.

Then he started calling me “druggy boy.” Where are the drugs, druggy boy? "You've got to be kidding," I said. He wasn't. He called two backup units.

Really.

When the officers arrived, he jubilantly raised my spoon in the air and loudly proclaimed “I got another one.” He then drove me to the station, handcuffed me to a bench, and locked me up in a 9 x 9 cell.

Really.

After being interrogated for an entire hour, the captain said, "Your story checks out. Sorry for the inconvenience. You are free to go pending the lab results from the spoon."

Have a nice day. 


Looking back, I realize that I was not a very good witness for Jesus. I did not seize the opportunity to advance the kingdom. I was too focused on me.

My injustice

My humiliation

My reputation

My pending lawsuit

Unlike Paul, my focus was me, NOT Jesus.

The hardest thing to do during suffering, during those dark periods in our lives, during those times when the weight of the world is on our shoulders, is to see beyond our earthly predicament and look at it through the lenses of God's providential hand.

When you suffer well, you have the attention of others,


Friends.

Relatives.

Acquaintances

Strangers

Oppressors



It is the best time, as Jesus said, "to let your light shine."


Don't be like me. Be like Paul. Look at hardships, inconveniences, persecution, as an opportunity to glorify Jesus.

Suffer well for Jesus!