“Though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him…”

If we look to Jesus as revealed in our verse for today, we learn that Jesus’ life was a life that included suffering, and His suffering was not gratuitous. It had a purpose. Through His suffering Jesus learned obedience. He learned how to remain obedient to God even though He was suffering. He did not to use suffering as an excuse to disobey God’s plan. He learned how to stand fast and obey God.

Furthermore, we learn from Jesus’ example that His obedience to God needed to be perfected, or completed. Jesus, of course, lived in sinless perfection; however, He still needed to go through the sufferings in order to become ready for His great task in life. Every experience He had and every suffering He endured prepared Him for the cross.

If the sinless Son of God understood obedience through suffering, then how much more do we who are mere followers of His example need to learn obedience through suffering? Perhaps we need to look at the trials, troubles, and tribulations of life in a new light. Instead of complaining about them, perhaps we should consider them valuable experiences that qualify us for the tasks God has planned for us. If we go through these trying times in faith and obedience, then we will be ready for what God has in store for us.

You are a work in progress. You are being perfected by suffering for the tasks God planned for you from all eternity. You are working on your advanced degree in the specialty God thinks you are best suited for. Stand fast in faith, then, and learn obedience from what you are going through.

By John Huisman, friend of Bible League International