March 29 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

If in our spiritual journey we have paid little attention to the suffering that belongs to all followers of Christ, we had better correct our mistake quickly. After all, the Bible goes so far as to call suffering with Christ a condition for being glorified with him.

We should not overlook the words with him. The Bible does not say that the reward for suffering in this life is glory in the next. That would take us back to the old salvation-by-works heresy. Our crosses never save us. Only the cross of Christ has that power. But the Bible does say that we must identify with Jesus today if we are to be in his company tomorrow: "If ... we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him."

The great surprise of the New Testament is that the promised King of Israel lived as a slave and died on a cross. The obedient Son of God placed himself under the Father's law—first a cross, then a crown. In doing so, he had to reject all the shortcuts to glory recommended by the devil and even by Jesus' own friends.

Anyone who wants to identify with Christ must follow this unchange­able law: first the cross and then the crown. In its present existence, the church is a church under the cross.

The Christian church is not the place where suffering is past because the Spirit is present, as some seem to think. The purpose of the Spirit is not to take away our cross but to give us the power to bear that cross.

Nor is the church an institution through which people can buy them­selves some eternal life insurance, as even more seem to assume.

The church is the company of people called by Jesus Christ. They live "with him" or "in him." Whatever they plan, they plan with Christ; whatever they do, they do with Christ; whatever they hope to be, they want to be in Christ. For them to live is Christ and to die is gain. "With him" they suffer; "with him" they will be glorified.

REFLECTIONS

What does it mean to you to be "in Christ"?

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.