13 Jul Seasons and Suffering
by Will Jackson
This past week our preaching series, Dear Church, pressed our church to study Revelation 2:8-11 where we see Jesus’ letter to the church at Smyrna.
At a glance, we can see:
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- (v. 8) Jesus is the first and last, who died and came to life—eternal God & firstborn of the resurrection.
- (v. 9) Jesus acknowledges their present suffering—tribulation, poverty, slander from the Jews.
- (v. 10) Jesus calls the church to not fear future suffering—prison, tribulation, potential death—for the reward is the crown of life.
- (v. 11) Christ’s disciples will not be hurt by the second death—they will have eternal life.
The idea of suffering is not a pleasant thought for any of us. But in particular, the prospect of enduring tests similar to those promised to the church in Smyrna can seem utterly foreign. For those of us living out our Christian days in the United States, it’s assumed that we won’t be asked to endure physical harm or worse, give our lives to prove our devotion to Christ.
Yet we are reminded that there are pockets of the 21st century world in which 1st century-like persecution is an ever-present reality for those that claim Christ as Lord.
Tribulation in the 21st Century
This past week I read about a Baptist school in Nigeria where over 100 kids were kidnapped. Records show that when this kind of persecution occurs in Nigeria, it is isolated only to Christians, and the government, when it could intervene—looks the other way. It is the faith of these brothers and sisters–and seemingly nothing more–that draws the focus of the evildoers’ antagonism.
We have church planting partners in South Asia, who were hosting a church at their house—it got too big so they built an extension shelter onto the house and the church continued to grow. The local mayor saw it as a threat, so he had the house burned down. This family lost everything.
But in these places of the world, just like for the Christians of the 1st century, the gospel is not thwarted. Against all odds, God multiplies His kingdom through the worst of circumstances—proving He is mighty and powerful and good.
This raises the question, how do we grapple with the seeming disparity of suffering among Christians today?
A Paradigm for Perspective
Tim Keller offers a helpful framework for our understanding. In his book, Center Church, he describes “four seasons” of a church’s relationship to broader culture (Keller himself has adapted this model from H. Richard Niebuhr’s The Church Against the World).
Consider this paraphrase of Keller’s Four Seasons:
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- Winter – the church is in a hostile relationship to a pre-Christian culture; little evangelistic fruit is seen; the church is spiritually weak. (the Developing World / Majority World)
- Spring – the church is growing amidst a hostile response from culture, often depicted by persecution. (e.g. India, China)
- Summer – the church is highly regarded by the culture; many Christians are at the center of cultural production; Christians feel “at home” in the culture. (e.g. most pockets of the American South)
- Autumn – the church is becoming increasingly marginalized in a post-Christian culture; the church must contextually strategize new ways to reach the lost with the timeless truths of the gospel. (e.g. Europe, the American Northeast)
It is likely our “season” will correlate with the amount of suffering we will experience and what “persecution” may resemble in our lives.
Back to our question, as citizens and residents of the United States, how do we process our predominantly Summer existence with the present-day Autumn-Winter-Spring struggles of our brothers and sisters across the globe?
Consider these three truths and three action steps:
Three Truths
Truth #1: God is sovereign and righteous.
God is big and very much in charge. Nothing surprises God or disrupts His master plan. Whether you were born in midwest suburbia or on the streets of Haiti, your situation is right for you because God is always right.
Truth #2: God’s purview is infinite.
This is where Keller’s Four Seasons paradigm is most helpful. Seasons don’t last forever. Winter, literally like clockwork, gives way to Spring and so on and so on. God’s purposes, in part, unfold within the scope of our lifetimes but His carefully-planned-activity spans the fullness of time. God is using my suffering or prosperity today to impact the next series of events in His kingdom building efforts.
Truth #3: God’s mission is global.
We see this echo loudly throughout the Bible. God is redeeming the nations according to his own strategy (Genesis 12:1-3, Revelation 7:9) which means He is not unconcerned with the suffering of those in today’s hardest places.
Three Action Steps
Action Step #1: Appreciate Summer but do not become arrogant or complacent with its obvious blessings.
God does not prefer we associate blessing with inherent guilt. While our response to God’s favor can be sinful, we mustn’t scoff at His decision to bestow it.
Action Step #2: Ally with those in Autumn, Winter, and Spring.
It should be more than a cliche to refer to Christians across the globe as brother and sister. Our unity is in Christ and we share in an eternal familial bond that is intended to be practiced in this lifetime. Their struggle is my struggle and vice versa. Like we see modeled in 2 Corinthians 8-9, how can we practically and materially support our fellow laborers most in need? How can I pray? Should I travel to be physically present in their situation—either short-term or more permanently?
Action Step #3: Anticipate a day in which our Summer will give way to the next season.
While many would assume it, this isn’t political. In one sense, our perspective is actually apolitical—for we are citizens of the heavenly city—fellow citizens with the globally and ethnically diverse people of God. Whereas we are witnessing shifts in various cultural tides in the United States, we are reminded that our battle is spiritual and spiritual darkness in the land of prosperity has a way of masquerading itself so as to spread without notice. If we are holding fast, devoted to Christ, we can weather any changes to our landscape with thanksgiving and praise.
How do we process the disparity of suffering? We process it alongside our Savior who intimately walks with each of us, tests each of us, and will renew us completely on the final day.
James 1:2-4
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
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Will is the Executive Pastor at Crosspoint Church and serves as an Adjunct Professor with Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his wife Kimberly live in Clemson, SC with their two children, Miles and Emma.