Paul is able to tell the Colossians, ‘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’ (Col 1.24). The apostle wasn’t for a moment suggesting there was something deficient in the sufferings the Saviour had to endure to secure salvation. Rather, he most likely had in mind the sufferings of the people of God are called to endure by virtue of their union with Christ (Ro 8.17).

It would be tempting to think that yet another article on suffering at this time is nothing more than jumping on the bandwagon of the current situation; but that is not altogether the case. Yes, we are facing a crisis of global proportions that is full of uncertainty; but it is neither the first, nor (to date) the worst of its kind. What it does represent, however, is yet another of those many examples in world history of God’s using a megaphone (to borrow C.S. Lewis’ imagery) to get our attention.

As was noted in a social media post not that long ago, the three great axioms that have defined humanity in our 21st Century world – ‘fear of death, desire for control, and love of money’ – have all been turned against us: ‘Our Dagons have fallen!’

Like it or not, this global pandemic has simply reminded us of our frailty, our mortality and our foolishness as a race. But also, for the Christian church, we are reminded of the way in which we too – at least in those parts of the world that have been Westernised – have been subtly sucked into the lie of the ages. Our quest for what Francis Schaeffer described as ‘personal peace and affluence’ has been exploded – at least temporarily.

Many things could be said about suffering as a feature of life in a fallen world – many of them probably directed towards those of our fellow-human beings who are still in a fallen condition. But it is fascinating to see how much Scripture focuses on suffering in a way that is intended to educate the elect and deepen our experience of salvation in Christ.

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