Why would Paul suffer and sacrifice for people he didn’t know?

By Dean Collins

Are you willing to go through suffering for people you’ve never met? And would you suffer for another even if you knew they were behaving in an ungodly way?

If you are a Christ-follower then Romans 5:7 might come to mind, where Paul said it’s hard enough to suffer and even die for a good person, yet Jesus died for us when we were living separated from him, stuck in our sin and ungodliness. And in Colossians Paul writes that he rejoices in suffering for those in Colossae.

We know of Paul’s commitment to Jesus and of many abuses he experienced, but this is a little different. Paul had never been to this area, and he didn’t know the people. His information about this church was given to him by a guy named Epaphras who told Paul about his experiences with and knowledge of these believers. Paul’s suffering was for people he didn’t even know.

Two questions

That leads me to ask myself two questions:

1) Do I live my life with such faith and passion for God that you would tell anyone about it?
2) Am I willing to give all I have, even to the point of suffering, for people that you tell me about?

You and I want to live in a way that Jesus is glorified. It’s not that either of us needs attention or commendation. But we want our reputation to be such that ultimately people learn about and are directed to God because of how we live. The truth is that people talk. News travels, and bad news travels faster. For whatever reason, there is a great temptation to spread bad news; some feel satisfaction in sharing gossip. The quality of our lives needs to be so attractive that others can’t resist telling about the God they see in us.

If we want to have real Kingdom impact, we must be willing to sacrifice for others, even when we don’t know them. And even if we’ve heard they are struggling in sin. To go the extra mile and care for those we don’t know is truly life-giving and life-changing. It’s the kind of work Paul did because of the kind of love Jesus had for him and for all of us.

Even though Paul had never met these believers, he wanted to encourage them. He also called for them to be united in love for Jesus so they would be filled with understanding of Christ that would result in them discovering real treasure.

I’m no pirate, but as a boy I was always looking for some buried treasures. I didn’t find any in the holes I dug as a kid. But Paul says as adult followers of Jesus, we can dig for treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And here is really good news from Colossians 2:3; in Christ, all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden. Solomon was wise. There have been many who were noted for wisdom throughout the ages. The great news of this verse is that we have access to all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge because we know exactly where they are hidden: in Jesus.

One source

I’m no scientist, either, but if I’m told where to mine for treasure, that seems like the obvious place to dig deeper. The discipline of daily prayer and reading of Scripture, along with the guidance that comes from the Holy Spirit, will lead us to the exact spot where we find the perfect treasure for the work we are called to do today.

And when we find the treasure, then someone we don’t know yet will likely be blessed, maybe now or certainly later, because of our faithfulness to Jesus and his Word.

Your time with God’s Word
‭‭Colossians‬ ‭1:24-29; 2:1-5; Romans‬ ‭5:6-7‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Photo by Vaishakh pillai on Unsplash

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