Paul's Joy in Suffering for the Church

"Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you." — Joy in Differing

The vast region of human sorrow appears to most a dark and dreary desert. Yet if we saw truly, we should find many streams of refreshment, many sunny spots, and on all sides evidences of the Divine tenderness. Here we find Paul at home in the region of suffering—rejoicing amid mysteries which fill most men with darkness. He had been led to understand that his sufferings were supplementary to those of Christ, and essential to the well-being of the Church.

Christ's sufferings were borne voluntarily for men, springing from infinite love. Though inexpressible in their anguish, they were compatible with His unspeakable joy—indeed, they were the cause of it (Hebrews 12:2). Christ in His life of sacrifice declared the Father's love and mirrored the life of God. Adonai is ever spending Himself for His children, ever unspent.

Paul's sufferings were similarly twofold: those voluntarily endured for the Church's sake, and those personal and inevitable. He did not seek suffering for its own sake—as an end it was contemptible. But as a means to the universe's well-being, it was sublime. Paul's joy was not in the suffering itself, but in the love of which suffering was the medium of expression. As patriotic love inspires a soldier to bleed for his country, so love for men made the apostle ready to sacrifice anything. In doing so, he was filled with Divine ecstasy.