None of us like suffering. If we do, we think of ourselves as having some sort of phsychiatric disorder. But, as Christians, we cannot avoid suffering. Christ told his apostles that they would suffer in Matthew 10:18-20. He didn’t say, “But if they arrest you.” He said “But when they arrest you.” It’s a certainty that we will suffer spiritually, physically, and emotionally for proclaiming God to the world. We suffer for God, and it isn’t a bad thing. On the contrary, it shows God to be a glorious and powerful God who supports His children.
Because it brings glory to God, we should view suffering for Truth as a privilege. Suffering for the Gospel is not a curse; it is a blessing bestowed upon us by God. Paul said to the Philippians in Philippians 1:29 that it had not only granted to them to believe on Christ but also to suffer for Him. Paul viewed suffering for God as a gift equal to salvation.
Suffering comes hand-in-hand with our heavenly reward. Romans 8:17-18 speaks to this very well. It tells us that, although our present sufferings cannot compare to the reward which we will receive in Heaven, they are intrinsically connected to our sanctification process. They are what mark us as co-heirs of Christ.
The book Jesus Freaks put out by dc Talk and The Voice of the Martyrs contains many poignant stories of people who “considered it pure joy when [they] faced trials of many kinds. (James 1:2). One of my favorite stories is found on page 224. It is the story of Nijole Sadunaite, a Christian in Soviet Lithuania in the 1970s. When she was sentenced to three years in prison for her faith, she said to the court, “This is the happiest day of my life. I was judged today for the cause of truth and love toward men. What cause could be more important? I have an enviable fate, a glorious destiny” Later, when she met the Pope in Rome, he asked her, “How was it in jail?” She happily responded, “Romantic.” Nijole’s story vividly illustrates how we ought to view suffering for Christ: as a privilege which few are granted.
Hello, and welcome to the Arrow Up blog. Arrow Up, or AU for short, is a blog devoted to encouraging and teaching Christian teens around the world to stand up for what they believe and draw closer to the Creator of the Universe. We the authors, Ben and Jayan, are just average teens from the USA trying to “run the race” (Hebrews 12:1). This blog is a way for us to share our discoveries from the word of God and other sources, and to hopefully help other teens in their Christian walk.
In this article, we hope to clarify what this blog is about, and to tell you more about our vision and mission.
The first question in the Westminster Larger Catechism is this: “What is the chief and highest end of man?” The answer is what we want to do with this blog: “Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy him forever.”
The name “Arrow Up” is an analogy of what we should be to the world. Instead of wanting to get all the praise for what we do and have others look up to us, we should be “arrows” that point the world to Christ. Now I’m pretty sure that we won’t be reaching the whole world with this blog alone, but if everyone works together with us, the sky is the limit to what we can do.