you cannot stand? This fault re quires changing. The transforma tion can take place as we begin to pray for these individuals. It is not just enough to tolerate other be lievers. There is a point where we can learn to enjoy their fellowship. This relationship should be con stantly expanding to include even others. It seems that Paul is saying, “Oh, fellow believer in Jesus Christ, re member in the bonds of the Gos pel, you and I are to be one in Jesus Christ, in every possible sense of the word." SUFFERING There are some acute emotional types of suffering which can come to people who are misunderstood (Philippians 1:12-14). To under stand this passage we should put ourselves in the shoes of the Phil ippian believers. It had been at least fouryears since they had seen the Apostle Paul. Having heard rumors of what might have hap pened to him they were quite wor ried. They had also heard of the illness of Epaphroditus. There was no way to bring them current, up- to-date information on their be loved friends. What wonderful news to these Philippian believers when they heard of what had been achieved for Christ in Rome. Even though he was in prison, the Gos pel was being furthered by Paul and others. It is important to remember that the things which happened to Paul were quite different from the things he had planned for himself. Hu manly speaking, there was no hope that Paul could nurture for his fu ture freedom. Yet, he was always willing to serve Christ regardless of the frustrations with which he
was confronted. He knew that all of this served to spread the Gos pel. Have you experienced any thing like that in your own life? All suffering is actually for that purpose. God has different reasons for permitting discipline to come our way. Sometimes it is corrective in our lives. It brings us back on the right path when we may have gone astray (Proverbs 3:11-12). Some suffering is intended to awak en us to the needs and feelings of others. Still other such experi ences should be instructive, mold ing us in the image of the Saviour (I Peter 1:6). In this case, Paul was allowed to suffer so that the Gos pel might be spread to the other parts of the world. Few of us have experienced this type of suffering. Because of all these trials, Paul was able to witness to his Roman guard, feeling the impact right to the very household of Caesar. The praetorian soldiers referred to here were the official bodyguard of the Roman emperor. They took charge of all the imperial prisoners. Al ways there was a guard chained to him. If we were in this situation we might complain of it all being un just. Paul rejoiced, however, and testified to those who were so near at hand. He sought to win all of these to Christ. Today it may be that we have chains around us. While they are not made of heavy metal, their pressures can be just as realistic. How do you face them? Do they bring you defeat or do you use these experiences to bring glory to the Lord? Paul's suffering had a tremendous effect on other Chris tians. It inspired and motivated them to serve the Lord no matter the hardship or privation. Believ-
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