Do you experience suffering as a result of following Christ? Should you expect to?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Dietrich Bonhoeffer, suffering for Christ is central to the discipleship experience. He argues that, as disciples become more and more like Christ, they are treated more and more like Christ was treated on earth. So, Christians should expect to be persecuted. This is part of the cost of discipleship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read more to learn about suffering for Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
According to Bonhoeffer, suffering for Christ is the hallmark of discipleship. Christ came to earth to suffer in our place so that our sins could be forgiven. By following and obeying Christ, we gradually become more like him. Since Christ\u2019s earthly life was characterized by suffering, it is only natural that the more we become like Christ, the more we will share in the same kind of suffering that he experienced. Bonhoeffer declares that to suffer like Christ is the most glorious honor that a disciple can receive on earth. As such, you can triumph over suffering by accepting it and rejoicing in the fact that it allows you to relate more closely to Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bonhoeffer clarifies that when he speaks of \u201csuffering\u201d he is not referring to the \u201cnatural suffering\u201d that is common to everyone, such as catching a cold, getting a toothache, or developing aches and pains as you get older. Instead, he insists that disciples will suffer gratuitous persecution because of their allegiance to Christ<\/em>. He asserts that humbly and peacefully seeking to follow Christ invariably provokes people who reject Christ to slander you and seek your harm, just as Jewish leaders who rejected Jesus’s teachings persecuted him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n