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Privilege

The early church had a unique perspective on suffering. They considered it a privilege to share in Jesus' suffering when they went to the lions or gladiators, or when hiding in the catacombs, blamed for the burning of Rome, or executed for not bowing down to Caesar's statue.

Usually, when suffering comes our way, we say: "Why me, Lord?" or "I don't deserve this!" We see suffering as an intruder and do whatever we can to avoid it.

The early church recognized that Jesus ultimately suffered - both in the sacrifices He made in the incarnation and the agony of His death. They believed their suffering was just a drop in the bucket of the suffering of humanity that He had already been through.

They believed the pain of martyrdom, the strain of persecution, and the loneliness of rejection that they were going through had ultimately been embraced by Jesus on the cross.

They counted it a privilege to suffer, knowing that Jesus had walked this road ahead of them. They were comforted in knowing that their suffering was a subset of His.

The early church wasn't masochistic. They didn't get a kick out of pain. They weren't seeking suffering; they were just comforted that Jesus had been there. As they viewed it, suffering wasn't an unwelcome intruder ("something strange") but rather a reality that Jesus had addressed.

Their eyes were on the victory He obtained. Suffering had been defeated on the cross, and when Jesus returns, the suffering that we shared in small parts with Him will be completely overshadowed by His glory.

There's a lot that we can learn from the early church!