Suffering FOR Something

It isn't a question of whether you will suffer. The issue is will your suffering be meaningful? That depends on WHY you're suffering.

Oct 30, 2025

A young man came to my office recently, exhausted and frustrated.

“Father, I’m working sixty-hour weeks at this job I hate. I’m missing time with my kids. My marriage is stressed. I’m burned out. But I can’t quit—I need the money.”

I listened, then asked him: “What are you building? What’s this all for?”

He looked at me blankly. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, what’s the purpose? You’re suffering—clearly. You’re sacrificing time, energy, health, and relationships. For what? What are you building that makes this suffering worth it?”

Long pause.

“I... I don’t know. I’m just trying to keep up. Pay the bills. Not fall behind.”

There it is. Suffering without purpose. Sacrifice without meaning. Pain without point.

And it’s killing us.

Because here’s the truth: Everyone suffers. The question isn’t whether you’ll suffer—it’s what you’ll suffer FOR.

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Today’s Lesson: Colossians 1:24-2:1

Brethren, now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the divine office which was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now made manifest to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man mature in Christ. For this I toil, striving with all the energy which he mightily inspires within me. For I want you to know how greatly I strive for you.

St. Paul is writing from prison.

Again.

Beaten, shipwrecked, stoned, left for dead, imprisoned multiple times, and constantly on the run from people trying to kill him.

His resume of suffering is staggering.

And yet he says, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake.”

REJOICE? In suffering?

Yes. Because his suffering has meaning. It has purpose. It’s building something that will outlast him.

He’s not suffering randomly, pointlessly, just grinding through life hoping to survive. He’s suffering for the sake of the Church, to make the Word of God fully known, to present every person mature in Christ.

His pain has a point.

And that makes all the difference.

What Can We Take From This?

First, St. Paul says something shocking: “I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions.”

Wait. What’s lacking in Christ’s afflictions? Didn’t Jesus say, “It is finished” on the Cross? Wasn’t His sacrifice complete and sufficient?

Yes! Christ’s work of redemption is absolutely finished. Nothing needs to be added to what He accomplished.

But the work of proclaiming that redemption, of bringing it to the ends of the earth, of building up the Body of Christ—that work continues. And it requires suffering.

St. Paul is saying, “Christ suffered to accomplish redemption. Now I suffer to proclaim that redemption. My sufferings are united to His, part of the ongoing mission of the Church.”

This is profound. Your suffering, when united to Christ’s, isn’t meaningless. It’s not wasted. It’s not just something to endure until you die.

When you suffer for the sake of the Gospel, for the building up of others, for the advancement of God’s Kingdom—you’re participating in Christ’s ongoing work in the world.

Your pain has purpose. Your sacrifice matters. Your struggles are building something eternal.

Next, the mystery St. Paul proclaims is this: “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

For thousands of years, God’s presence was localized—in the Tabernacle, in the Temple, in specific places at specific times.

But now? “Christ in you.”

Not Christ somewhere out there. Not Christ only in heaven. Not Christ limited to a building or a place.

Christ IN you. Dwelling in you. Living in you. Working through you.

This changes everything about suffering.

When Christ is in you, your sufferings become redemptive. Your struggles become formative. Your pain becomes purposeful.

Because it’s not just you enduring hardship—it’s Christ in you, transforming that hardship into something that builds His Kingdom.

Paul says this is “the hope of glory.” Not hope that someday you’ll escape suffering. Hope that your suffering, united to Christ, is producing glory—both now and eternally.

Finally, St. Paul’s goal is to “present every man mature in Christ.”

Notice he doesn’t say, “I want everyone to be comfortable,” or “I want everyone to be happy,” or even “I want everyone to be saved.”

He says MATURE. Fully formed. Complete. Healthy. Well-rounded. Grown up in Christ.

And maturity requires suffering. There’s no way around it.

You can’t mature without struggle. You can’t grow without resistance. You can’t become strong without facing challenges that test you, break you, reshape you.

St. Paul is willing to suffer, to toil, to strive “with all the energy which he mightily inspires within me”—all so that others might become mature in Christ.

That’s purposeful suffering. That’s sacrifice with meaning.

He’s not just surviving. He’s not just enduring. He’s building mature disciples who will carry the faith forward.

What are you building with your suffering? Do you know?

St. Cleopas and St. Artemas

St. Cleopas is one of the two disciples Jesus met on the road to Emmaus after His Resurrection (Luke 24). He had just witnessed the horror of the Crucifixion—his hopes crushed, his dreams destroyed, his teacher dead. But on that road, the risen Christ revealed Himself, and Cleopas’s suffering was transformed into purpose. He became one of the Seventy Apostles, spending the rest of his life proclaiming the Resurrection. According to tradition, he was martyred for his faith, but his death wasn’t meaningless—it was the completion of his mission. St. Artemas was also one of the Seventy, sent out by Jesus to prepare towns for His arrival. He later became Bishop of Lystra and suffered greatly for the Gospel, eventually dying as a martyr. Both of these men understood what Paul is teaching: Suffering for Christ isn’t wasted. It’s not random. It’s the continuation of Christ’s work in the world, producing maturity in ourselves and glory for God. Their afflictions completed what was “lacking” not in Christ’s redemptive work, but in the proclamation of that work to the world.

Your Response Today

Today, what are you suffering for? What’s the point of your pain? What are you building with your struggles?

If your answer is “I’m just trying to survive” or “I’m just trying to keep up” or “I don’t know”—then you’re wasting your suffering. And that’s the real tragedy.

Everyone suffers. The question is whether your suffering produces maturity, builds the Kingdom, participates in Christ’s ongoing work—or just grinds you down into bitterness and exhaustion.

St. Paul rejoiced in his sufferings because they had purpose. They were building something eternal. They were presenting people mature in Christ.

Can you say the same? Is your suffering united to Christ’s? Is it producing growth in yourself and others? Is it building anything that will outlast you?

Or are you just enduring, surviving, hoping it will eventually stop?

Stop wasting your pain. Unite it to Christ. Let Him transform your suffering into something redemptive. Let your struggles produce maturity—in you and in others.

Because the mystery is this: Christ in you, the hope of glory. And when Christ is in you, even your suffering becomes glorious. Being Orthodox on Purpose means suffering with meaning, sacrificing with purpose, striving with all the energy Christ inspires within you!

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