“I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.” – Saint Paul

While I often write about faith, I also tend to write around the topic of Christ. Part of it is not to look like a Jesus freak and to distance myself from the very real examples of people who have misrepresented and abused all that the faith stands for. Which unfortunately includes many people I know, including me.

But it does come down to what is contained in the verse above, as narrated in the epistle to the Philippians.

I don’t know enough about other faiths to comment on their particulars but one of the central tenets of my faith is the idea of sacrifice, suffering, and ultimately resurrection. The real hypocrisy for many believers is not so much that they aren’t nice, judgmental, swearing, drinking, going to a strip club, etc. In fact, some of those behaviors would actually make them more relatable and human. The real problem, as I see it, is that many believers do not suffer or sacrifice willingly. And how does that make them different from the rest?

And on the surface, this seems like pure insanity to willingly choose death, at least in the metaphorical senses. But that’s exactly what my faith is about. To die like Jesus and here’s the key – to be resurrected.

As I’ve said – no cross, no crown.

And that requires participation in suffering, not avoiding or running away from it at all costs.

That is the mystery.

That is true power.

That is real faith.

When you stack up suffering against all the good things we look to – fun, pleasure, travel, career, sex, etc. suffering looks like the bastard child left out of the will but in reality this is the way through, out, and up.

This is what it means to be like Jesus. There have been other good teachers and nice guys to follow in history. But it is the mystery of willing sacrifice that sets this apart.

I often talk about what would make all the pain worth it. It isn’t money, power, fame, maybe not even romantic love.

The real answer is in that verse.