Daily Devotions
Wednesday, July 16, 2025
Colossians 1:21-24 – And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, [Christ] has now reconciled in His body of flesh by His death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before Him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the Gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister. Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His body, that is, the church ….
That’s a phrase that shocks me every time I see it: Paul says, “In my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions.” What! How can Paul possibly say that there is anything lacking in what Jesus suffered for us? Didn’t He say it was finished, right before He died on the cross?
Of course He did. Paul himself says that Jesus has “reconciled [us] in His body of flesh by His death, in order to present [us] holy and blameless and above reproach before Him.” Jesus’ saving work is finished. By freely choosing to suffer, die, and rise from the dead for our sake, Jesus has done everything necessary to make us forgiven, reconciled, brand-new children of God, living in Him forever.
Then what is Paul talking about? I think he means a different kind of suffering, a kind that Jesus experiences even now, right along with us. Because if we belong to Jesus, we are members of His body, the church, right? And He has warned us many times that those who belong to Him will suffer, just as He did.
What kinds of suffering am I talking about? Well, there’s the obvious persecution and martyrdom that come to some of our fellow Christians even today around the world. But there are subtler kinds, too. For example, you might be trying to make peace in a broken church, caring for someone who has dementia, or trying to help someone with an addiction. You’re doing it because Jesus wants you to—but there’s no denying it’s hard, and it hurts. And then there is the pain that comes simply because you are trying to do the right thing in a world that rewards evil—when you refuse to hate, refuse to gossip, refuse to bend the truth or break the law—and you suffer for it.
And because Jesus loves us and lives in us, He shares that suffering with us—a suffering that will never be over, until the very end of the world.
Nobody likes suffering. But if you are sharing in Christ’s suffering for the sake of His people, you are highly honored, just as Paul was. And to you Jesus says what He said to the twelve the night before His death: “I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
WE PRAY: Lord, when I have to suffer, live in me, and hold me through it. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Reflection Questions:
- When have you suffered because you were trying to do something good?
- Why is suffering a normal part of the Christian life?
- What good effects can come out of suffering—if you let God do His work in your heart?
Today's Readings:
2 Kings 15-16Galatians 3