Acts 9:1-16
But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” 7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. 8 Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
10 Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” 11 And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, 12 and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” 13 But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” 15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”
I used to think I had a high tolerance for pain. Maybe I did, but it showed. One Sunday, sometime before I had hip replacement surgery I was in pain. I was standing behind the altar in worship and in order to deal with the pain, I gripped a small piece of trim on the back of the altar. Diane was playing the piano at that service and was in easy eye contact with me. She later asked me, “What did I do wrong today?”
What do you mean?
You were glaring at me.
No I wasn’t.
Oh you were. What did I do wrong?
Nothing!
Why were you glaring at me then…Oh, wait. Were you in pain?
That’s when I decided it was time for surgery. The pain was clouding my expression of love and kindness.
Jesus tells Ananias, “I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” And Saul, who becomes Paul when he begins his missionary work among the Gentiles learns about suffering. He writes:
Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. – 2 Corinthians 11:24-28
It takes a certain intrepidity to keep going in the face of such persecution. There’s no surgery to remove those kinds of pains. But Paul endured them all because he was convinced of something we all need to remember. He writes, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” (Romans 8:18)
I’m not going to equate my hip pain with suffering for the sake of Jesus’ name. But I do believe that whatever inconvenience, pain, suffering or worse we must endure because we follow Jesus will pale in comparison to the joy and restoration in the life of the world to come. It could be as simple as losing an hour of sleep in order to attend worship. It could be giving a sacrificial gift for the sake of God’s mission. It could mean enduring ridicule because we actually believe in Jesus. For some it’s far worse.
Whatever the pain or loss, we have the promise of Jesus: For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. (Mark 8:35)
David Bahn - Reflections 
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