One of the ironies of my walk with my Master is the suffering. My ministry buddy, Paul sets a high bar for suffering though. When I look back over whatever suffering I have had, it was really just irritating or annoying compared to what he endured. So, when Chambers takes Paul's comment in Colossians 1:24, one that has always surprised me, and ties it to Paul's call to minister, I am confused.
There are two words used in this verse for "suffering". One is related to "pathos" or where we get pathological, and this one refers to painful, perhaps more emotional suffering. This is the first one used to refer to the "suffering over y'all" Paul does. The second word refers to affliction from outside circumstances, and is fairly common. It is more circumstantial than malevolent and is the "suffering of Christ" that had a short fall made up by Paul (which is the surprising part).
By tying these words together, Paul is taking two fairly distinct concepts and melding them into his elements of his ministry over the Church in Colossae, one where he had not been. What he is describing is an emotional pain over them, and then the afflictions suffered by Christ. But Paul makes up was missing in the inventory of Christ's afflictions in his body. That shocks me, it may not strike you as peculiar, but I'm seriously challenged by that statement. Christ wasn't afflicted enough in this world, so Paul makes up what was lacking in those afflictions? He either thinks a lot of himself or not enough of Christ, or both. I don't know if you caught it, but the "afflictions" were not of Christ when He ministered in this world during His earthly ministry, but in His afflictions currently on behalf of the church (His body) in the world.
Ok, you may still not see that, but when/if you do it makes applying this verse and attitude a lot easier. To follow Paul's example, I accept affliction in this life on behalf of the church, just as each affliction of the church afflicts my Master. It is part of my identification with my Master, and it is a painful part. Sure Paul spent time in prison, but he also spent time in prayer, sending messengers to gain news of congregations, and emotional time with his Master interceding for these easily confused congregations. The letters of the Christian Scriptures ascribed to Paul are almost all corrective of problems in congregations all over Southern Europe and Asia Minor. They are products of Paul's time in prayer on their behalf.
Now, Chambers takes this and ties it to my calling and the pain that focuses in one particular area of service. He distinguishes this calling from what I want to do when I come to my Master in sanctification (the process of being made holy; i.e. set aside for divine service only). Chambers says that is self-directed, and the pain referred to in this verse is pain in the calling directed by my Master. I don't see the connection exactly. When I was called to whatever it was I missed, it wasn't pain that guided me. When I was called it was being carried away by the Spirit of my Master in doing something I couldn't explain and couldn't replicate. Perhaps I should have looked for pain instead?
Perhaps I don't really understand either this verse or Chambers entry. I agree with where Chambers goes after the first paragraph, but how he ties that to this verse I don't quite see. On the other hand, it may be that I don't understand this verse either. I assumed it had to do with Paul's prison time, but it seems otherwise. I'm not exactly clear on the otherwise, and I may not even really get which afflictions of Christ are being filled up. So, perhaps, in this cloud of obscurity and confusion, I should just back away, and try this again in October…
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