Suffering of Disciples

Acts 9:16 “For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”

“For the sake of My Name” is a reason very much used in the Bible in different situations. In these situations, we should search how and why God makes His name the primary reason for performing goodness.

In 1 Samuel 12:22, Samuel tells Israel after warning them (about their request for a king and this was granted), that the Lord will not forsake His people for His great name’s sake. The name of the Lord is “I am what I am” which means that He will not bow or turn from His ways and He will always be the same. Here, Israel’s rejection of God may have made Him furious, but the Name of God forces Him to be patient if anybody repents.

Another important example is in Ps 23:3 where the Lord leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Since God is loving us so high, he would always be patient and kind towards us. But this patience and forgiveness will not help us be saved. He has to lead us into righteousness. That’s why for His name’s sake, which is “I am what I am”, God tries to change us like Him so that we can commune with Him.

Jesus in John 17:6 mentions that “I have revealed Your name to the people you have given me out of the world”. Until Jesus came, the name was not known to the people. The Name of God “I am what I am” is not understood by people because we do not know the glory of “I am”. But Jesus, through His perfectly sinless life, had shown that no matter what the world tries to tempt of pressurize us, we can stay Holy and perfect. In the whole Bible, Jesus in this chapter calls God as Holy Father (v11) and Righteous Father (v25).

The term “must suffer” is at most times misunderstood or not prioritized in Churches. The current generation in lost in plenty of luxuries and have started to believe that suffering is optional to Christians and God wants us to prosper in life. In Mathew 10:22, the Lord clearly mentions that we will be hated by all because of His name. Because of the holiness and perfection God is, the sign of a true disciple is that others hate us. If we try to please men, we are not in line with the Name of God. Jesus has very clearly mentioned that we should pass through suffering in order to enter heaven. There is no other path. In 2 Timothy 3:12 Paul issues the statement to all. But in Philippians 1:29, Paul uses the word Granted meaning we requested God for suffering so that we can enter heaven and God granted this wish to us.

Mathew 16:24, 25 shows how Jesus wanted us to deny ourselves and that is the only way. This is important for every Christian to deny luxury, honor or comfort and come forward and willingly take up our own cross. That’s why Jesus says that if we lose our lives for His sake, that is if we willingly give up whatever we think life is, we can gain real life. 1 Peter 4 is a very important chapter which deals and explains this subject to us. The first verse explains how flesh had ceased from sin and it ends how we entrust our souls to Christ because of our doing good.

 God says “I will show you” this path. This is something that God recommends us so that we would come to His glory. In Psalms 32:8, God shows how He teaches us, then shows us a path towards glory, keeps an eye on us in this path so that we do not take any deviations or get discouraged and advices us whenever we need them. This progression is very important in every Christian. In Genesis 12:1, God says this to Abraham even though he had started towards Canaan. But we need to see Canaan as God shows us.

We should embrace suffering not for our selfish needs but for His Name’s sake as Jesus mentioned in the prayer, “Hallowed be thy Name”. For His name to be holy, we should come out of this world according to John 17:14 so that we would prove His name to be Holy.

Amen.