Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko

To Be Like Christ

Suffering is just part of life.
            Not some surprise
                        In-your-back knife. 

Suffering keeps ego at bay.
            At times, it heals
                        Or, opens a way.

Suffering comes to one and all—
            To parents and children,
                        Great and small. 

Suffering shows me Satan’s schemes:
            To lie, to kill,
                        To steal my dreams. ¹ 

Suffering makes me seek from above—
            God’s power, presence,
                        Wisdom, love. ²  

Sufferers know, He has overcome!  
            The battle is over,
                        And Jesus won! ³ 

Look past the feelings of pain and woe.
            To be like Christ,
                        Sufferings must show. ⁴

 

  1. John 10:10

  2. James 1:2-5

  3. John 16:33

  4. Romans 8:17

 

© 2015 gratefulsue

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The second to last verse in this poem may be a bit confusing. What do I mean by, “The battle is over, and Jesus won?” What battle am I referring to, and how did Jesus win? I don’t mean that Christians can’t die from cancer, or be killed in car accidents that were not their fault. I don’t mean Christians won’t die in wars or suffer injustices. Human suffering on earth affects all people and will not end until we meet Jesus in Heaven.

Rather, the “battle” refers to our endless battle in overcoming our individual habits of sinning. Sin means missing the “bull’s-eye” of what God would desire for our thoughts, decisions, actions, and relationships. Jesus was stronger than temptation and never sinned. He wants to help us be like Him. As a believer depends on help from God to overcome sin, and makes appropriate changes, he or she can see progress and even victory.