The Fellowship of his Sufferings

"He whom Christ loved was sick..." (John 11:3).

That I might know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings; being made conformable to his death" (Philippians 3:10).

Strange talk, back there language. Maybe!
Paul desired to know him and the power of his resurrection and why not?
If you had knowledge of his resurrection you could know him. If however you had experience of his resurrection you could know Christ in You. I don't think we know the resurrection power in us and the reason is this. We are too much into our own "sufferings" encompassed by them, taken over by them. Me and my problems, me and my life, me and my hurts! When our sufferings consume us we become selfish, weak, miserable and blind. Isolated and self absorbed by our own pain and inadequacy.

Its why folks don't get over a broken relationship.
Its why some cant find it in them to get out of their own grave of past failure.
Its why some women cant love again.
Its why men after a business failure cant brush off the dust and start all over.
Their suffering circumvents their resurrection

If you're going to enter into a resurrection kind of life you're going to have to get out of your sufferings and enter into the suffering of another.

Jesus showed that same resurrection power in the account of Lazarus

"He whom Christ loved was sick..." (John 11:3).

When Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick he sent them a message. "This sickness is not unto death; but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.." (John 11:4). Jesus knew that a miracle would happen. Here was a man who was known as a man of sorrows entering into another problem. As if he did not have enough problems of his own! Yet he entered into the sufferings of a brother.

"I am the resurrection, and the life"...

If you want what I got then you have to partake of my sufferings. Feel the pain like I feel the pain. For its the entering into the pains of another that we find our strength. Compassion produces resurrection. No wonder the devil hates it when we keep the love alive! 

If we want to see God at move in his miracle power among us as brethren we have to enter into the sufferings of one another as Jesus did.  You simply cant say "deal with it" "get over it!" no, you have to enter into it. For its then you will enter into your own resurrection as well as experience the power of resurrection in another.

Until we enter into the sufferings of a friend you will never know the resurrection life in you. That level of compassion will produce that level of resurrection. Lets get our mind off us and onto Christ. Enter into his sufferings by sufferings by feeling what he feels when a brother is sick, feeling what he feels when a brother is broken, feeling what he feels when we minister to others in their crisis. For until we feel what he feels we can never overcome as he overcame.

There's power in entering into the sufferings of others. For if it was for us he died then it is for us he lives. its part of living the unselfish life, the resurrection life.  The fellowship of his sufferings produces the power of his resurrection!