My decision to follow Christ was made possible through God the Father first choosing me (1 Corinthians 1:24). When I made that decision in 1976, I naively believed I had said ‘goodbye’ to a life of pain and suffering, not ‘hello’ to more!
 
However, since that time my eyes have been opened through Scripture to see quite clearly that suffering is a ‘norm’ for those who choose to follow Christ with their lives. Yes, those who don’t follow Christ also suffer, but the result of their suffering is essentially vain, not gain.
 
Friends, suffering without gain is purposeless suffering, and the cause of such suffering should be avoided where possible. Our Heavenly Father has not chosen us to endure pointless suffering. The suffering we have been chosen to experience is that which results from following the Lord through fulltime righteous living. The outcome from such suffering is gain, guaranteed by God, for our benefit; for the benefit of others, and glorifies God!  
 
The world hates us for no other reason than simply being followers of Jesus Christ. Jesus informed His disciples that after His ascension into Heaven this would be the attitude of the world towards them. He said to them, ”Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers” (Matthew 24:9).
 
Not long after I had made my decision to follow Christ I began to suffer persecution at the hands of my peers while serving in the Australian military, and later as a police officer in Queensland. Why was I targeted? Simply because I had chosen to honor God through living a life of uncompromised righteousness, which at times included openly accepting responsibility for short-falls in my character and work-related mistakes. Most of my police associates refused to work with me because they could not count on me to support their varying shades of truth-telling when it suited them.
 
Saul was left blind after he had encountered the Lord on the road to Damascus. After being led to that city, God informed Ananias to go to Saul and lay his hands upon him for the restoration of his sight. God said to Ananias, “Saul is my chosen instrument… I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake” (Acts 9:15,16). Saul was not chosen by God to be punished but for special service!
 
Saul, the one chosen by God to write most of the NT Books, did in deed endure a great deal of suffering… more than any other servant of God had experienced for living boldly and unashamedly for Christ. After many tests and trials, Saul testified to the church at Philippi…“Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ” (3:9).
 
Saul, who was later known as Paul, said to believers at Rome, “If we are to share Christ’s glory, we must also share his suffering” (8:17). (Concluding Part 2 next week.)
 
Best wishes
Bill Joukhadar