Philippians 3:10

This devotional comes courtesy of Bob Carter, M.D. and missionary under SIM.

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“I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings…” (Philippians 3:10)

Blessings Ndashi was a bright, engaging 13-year old Zambian girl brought to our free AIDS clinic at Mukinge Mission Hospital by her godly grandmother. Her care was being transferred to us from a distant city because her mother had just died there from AIDS, and she was now going to be under the care of her grandmother who lived in a nearby village.

Blessings’ story was heartrending. After she and her sickly mother had been abandoned by her father, they had both gone for HIV testing at the local government hospital. Both were found to be positive. At that time, “low-cost” anti-AIDS drugs were available at certain government hospitals. But even at $10 per month, Blessings’ mother knew there was no way an abandoned woman like herself could afford the monthly cost of these drugs for both of them. So she decided to go without treatment in order to provide the life-giving drugs to her beloved daughter. She chose to embrace death for herself so that her daughter could live.

As the grandmother shared this story I was struck by how much Blessings’ mother exemplified the sacrifice that Jesus made for us. Except that unlike us, Jesus was not “sin-positive.” He was not already under the sentence of death. Nevertheless Jesus consciously chose to embrace death in His own body in order to obtain for us the hope of eternal life.

It was not a choice that Jesus made gladly; in fact he prayed earnestly that some other way could be found. But it is a choice that He made willingly – as willingly as Blessings’ mother did.

What makes people sacrifice themselves for the sake of others? I think all of us who are parents understand. Who among us would not willingly give up our own life if it could save the life of our son or daughter? For love’s sake, people have been known to brave the greatest dangers and endure the most excruciating torment. And likewise it was for love’s sake that Jesus endured the pain and the shame of the cross to redeem us back into the family of God.

None of us desires to suffer. And yet, some things are worth suffering for. The apostle Paul understood this when he wrote, “I want to know Christ … and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings.” To recognize the surpassing worth of something so grand, so glorious, so wonderful that it is worth even embracing the pain of suffering and death or enduring overwhelming trials and tribulations – this is what elevates human experience from the merely mortal into the realms of the eternal. Jesus, “who for the joy set before him endured the cross” (Heb. 12:2) sets for us an example of this principle and offers to us the chance to experience it for ourselves. Blessings’ mother followed the example of Jesus. Dare we?

“The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” (Romans 8:16, 17)