Self-Centered

I've been reading/studying the book of Acts recently. For those unfamiliar, the book of Acts details the experiences of the early church including it's persecution and explosive expansion after the resurrection of Christ. Most recently, I've been in Chapter 8 which takes place as the early disciples fled Jerusalem due to persecution and the gospel spread to where ever they went.

In addition to reading the actual passages of Scripture, I also have been using my spiffy new Study Bible notes to get a deeper understanding of the text. And though I generally love my Study Bible, the note I read today really got stuck in my craw. Here it is:

Persecution forced the believers out their homes in Jerusalem, and along with them went the gospel. Sometimes we have to become uncomfortable before we'll move. We may not want to experience it, but discomfort may be best for us because God may be working through out hurts. When you are tempted to complain about uncomfortable or painful circumstances, stop and ask if God might be preparing you for a special task.  

I don't know that I take issue with the whole note. Because parts of it are right, you know. Like I enjoy comfort, if I am comfortable I am not likely to uproot my life and move. Certainly the discomfort of facing persecution, literally forced these people from their homes. So in some sense, this note is true.

I don't know... I just get this bad feeling in my stomach when two things happen: (1) when we explicitly or implicitly place God as a author of suffering and (2) when we make suffering into a "teaching moment."

Specifically, it seems to me that God did work out the expansion of the church through the dispersion of the early disciples (i.e., persecutions ultimately facilitated godly aims). But I don't think it is a fair read to say, God inspired persecution to make these brandy new believers uncomfortable so they would get off their duff and move. Nor do I think God was trying to teach them a lesson. Or prepare them for a task. Ultimately, I don't think it was about THEM at all. It was about God. It was about bringing about God's kingdom to the Earth.

What I believe is that when we surrender our lives to God, we say "God, my life is Yours. Use it to bring about Your purposes. Use it at You see fit." Thus, God was using each of their lives (surrendered to Him of their own volition), as they dispersed from Jerusalem to bring His message with them.

Sometimes I think we (DEFINITELY MYSELF INCLUDED HERE) see suffering from such a self-centered lens. If I am suffering it must be because I am being punished or I need to learn a lesson or I am being developed. When I am pretty sure if God allows suffering, especially suffering of the magnitude of persecution, it is because of aims far bigger than any one of us. In the case of the early church, this is suffering for spreading of the message of hope and redemption, of God's unconditional love for the world and everyone in it. Not whether or not Sally Disciple was "ready" for some task or not.

I mean don't you want to know that the suffering you face/have faced has more meaning than just you?? Cause some of the sufferings that exist and are endured cannot be accounted for on selfish, self-centered terms (i.e., how does my suffering work out to benefit me). Instead, it can only be understood in the context Christ's kingdom coming. Specifically, if we will turn over our lives (sufferings an successes) to God, He will weave them into the story that spells Redemption for the world. That's right...THE WORLD.

Not just you.

Not just me.

The World.

His kingdom coming to The World. 

If we could just remember that God has a plan for The World (all of creation) not just us. That He has a plan for us, but not ABOUT us. That we have a part to play, but not THE part to play.