Why Do Christians Suffer?

      Anyone who becomes a Christian, within a short period of time, will quickly realize that the journey of faith is not without difficulties.  John Bunyan, in his timeless allegorical story, The Pilgrim’s Progress, powerfully conveys the biblical truth of suffering that each Christian must face in his journey of faith.  While many believers are willing to share about the blessings that come from living a life of faith, few are quick to speak of the trials that are distinct to the Christian experience.  This dichotomy of a life of blessings marked by a life of trials is not an oxymoron for the believer.   Most believers will agree that blessings for a believer flows from the covenant promise that God has given us, “Blessed is the person who delights in the law of God…Whatever he does it  prospers” (Psalm 1).  Blessings of a great marriage, of a fulfilling career, of good health, etc., are things we quickly point to as evidence of God’s faithfulness.  However, do we ever point to trials as evidence of our obedience to God? Why not? Didn’t Jesus promise us “that in this world [we] will have trials, but be of good comfort, for I have overcome the world”?  Aren’t trials the necessary ingredient for maturity, from growing from a “babe in Christ who is dependent on milk” to the “mature saint” who is able to handle “the meat of the Word of  God”?  Didn’t the apostle Paul admonish us to “count it all joy...when you experience trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance?   Perseverance in the midst of the pain produces within the believer the Christlikeness that Jesus embodied when He finished His work through death on the cross.  So let’s embrace suffering, preserve through it, allowing it to “finish it’s work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything”  James 1.