March 27 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

Isn't that a strange order? To know Christ, the power of his resurrection, and participate in his suffering? I thought that as soon as we have the resurrection power of Christ in our lives, we are past the stage of suffering and begin a glorious life!

Not so. The life of glory begins once we have attained "the resurrec­tion from the dead" (v. 11). And that, according to Paul, is still in the future.

Knowing Jesus Christ is the aim of a Christian. We get to know him— better and better—when we are united with him in faith. Our union means a oneness in Jesus' death and resurrection. By his death Jesus has delivered us from the burden of sin, and by his resurrection he has intro­duced us to a new life that comes to us through the Holy Spirit.

As soon as we receive this new life, we are introduced to the fellowship of Christ's suffering. His suffering is not the same kind of pain everyone feels. It's a particular kind of sorrow shared only by those who belong to Christ.

Before we knew Christ, we were not moved by human need the way we are now. Before we knew him, we could say, "Let every person be happy in his or her own way." Now we know that there is only one way of life and every other road leads to death. Before we knew Christ, we would get excited about things that can hardly stir us now. Since we know Christ, we have lost burdens that weigh heavily on those who do not know him. We got rid of the burden of sin, and most of the ordinary worries that plague ordinary people have been either taken away or sig­nificantly reduced. But we have also received new burdens of which the non-saved are ignorant.

Whoever receives the Word of the Lord becomes engaged in the work of the Lord. It is a feast to have the resurrection power of Christ in your life. But it also introduces you to the suffering of Christ.

REFLECTIONS

What burdens have you been able to lay down because you know Christ? What "new burdens" have you picked up?

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published by Paideia Press in 1977. This updated edition is copyright 2009 by Faith Alive Christian Resources. You can order a copy of this revised version of the book directly from the publisher.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this updated edition of Daylight are from the Holy Bible: Today's New International Version copyright 2001, 2005 by the International Bible Society.