Uniting our sufferings with Jesus on the cross

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Can someone explain how we do this? Jesus’ sufferings are so much more then what we experience, so I am unsure what this means. I want to have the correct thoughts about this, and do not want to add to Jesus’ sufferings.Combining my sufferings seem like it would be selfish because of what Jesus suffered.
 
For me it’s a challenge to recognize that while Jesus was suffering greatly, and therefore knows what it’s like to suffer, He did it with perfect love and mercy even toward those who were dealing him deadly blows.

I “unite” my suffering to Him in this way, and it proves to me that I can still have the peace of Christ, and the fruit of the spirit – even while in a situation that is miserable from the standpoint of any human observation.

I don’t think it is possible for anything you do to “add to” the suffering of Jesus, contrary to the popular notion that every sin we commit is like hammering on His nails or adding a thorn to His crown. I don’t buy that and I think it leads to unhealthy scrupulosity and fear and guilt – the very things Jesus intended to remove from our lives. Jesus suffered for all sins. I’m sorry but I just don’t buy the notion that if I sin in some way, Jesus is going to explicitly feel additional pain that He wouldn’t have felt had I not done that. To me that’s just plain superstition and might be useful to enslave and control people, but not to liberate and free them.

Do you really think Jesus wants to “rub it in our face” that we hurt Him? Q: How much did He say the woman washing His feet with her tears, had hurt Him? A: none: she loved Him and served as His example of love against the “non-sinning” Pharisees. Q: How much did He say the tax collector in the “Pharisee and the tax collector” harmed Him? A: none – the tax collector went home justified.

A contrite sinner is gold to Him; these are the people He came for. A righteous person exists only in their own mind, and if they decide I am not as good as them according to their standards, then they are the ones who caused Jesus to get angry and go off berserk on them verbally – like He did to the moneychangers in the temple. I think the moneychangers must have hurt Him; even He was taken surprise by their brazen behavior.

I figure this is a good of a list as any on the avoid entirely issue:

Prov 6.
16 There are six things the Lord hates,
yes, seven are an abomination to him;
17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,
18 A heart that plots wicked schemes,
feet that are quick to run to evil,
19 The false witness who utters lies,
and the one who sows discord among kindred.

So those who are boastful and arrogant may have something to worry about. Is an act of arrogance today, painful to Jesus back on the cross? I submit that no, He probably didn’t feel one little “pinch” that would be from that act, but collectively His actions were for all of human nature.

So it’s like if we threw all the sins we are sorry for into a dumpster, Jesus empties the dumpster and they are gone. His one act of emptying the dumpster takes care of the whole batch so if I throw one more little bag of regrets into it, it goes out without any additional action. All I have to do is throw my bag in; I don’t have to schedule another emptying because it’s an All for One deal. 🙂

Not that I can know any of this of course, but it just doesn’t make sense to me that He suffers specific extra pain for each one of our sins – except to the extent that He rejoices when become repentant.

Luke 15:7
“I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.”

MS
 
mommy_k said:
Can someone explain how we do this? Jesus’ sufferings are so much more then what we experience, so I am unsure what this means. I want to have the correct thoughts about this, and do not want to add to Jesus’ sufferings.Combining my sufferings seem like it would be selfish because of what Jesus suffered.
Click to expand...
When suffering is accepted with love, it turns it into a loving sacrifice, into the Cross of Christ and I believe this is how we unite our sufferings to His, by carrying our Cross as Christ carried His for all of mankind and thus we become co-redeemers with Christ making reparation for our sins and those of all mankind and those who share in the Cross of Christ will also share in His glory.

I believe meditation on the Passion of Christ will help greatly in this regard and would very much like to recommend the following two books -

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ - Anne Catherine Emmerich - 2heartsnetwork.org/Dolorous-Passion.pdf (Starts at pg 38)

The Passion - loveandmercy.org/Eng-TP-Reg.pdf

I hope this has helped

God Bless

Thank you for reading
Josh
 
Thank you for the reply. Is there a difference between offering up our sufferings, compared to uniting them with Jesus on the cross. I know how to offer sufferings up.

I am speaking about sufferings that come to us for whatever reason through no fault of our own doing.
 
Mystical_Seeker said:
For me it’s a challenge to recognize that while Jesus was suffering greatly, and therefore knows what it’s like to suffer, He did it with perfect love and mercy even toward those who were dealing him deadly blows.

I “unite” my suffering to Him in this way, and it proves to me that I can still have the peace of Christ, and the fruit of the spirit – even while in a situation that is miserable from the standpoint of any human observation.
Click to expand...
🙂
Mystical_Seeker said:
I don’t think it is possible for anything you do to “add to” the suffering of Jesus, contrary to the popular notion that every sin we commit is like hammering on His nails or adding a thorn to His crown. I don’t buy that and I think it leads to unhealthy scrupulosity and fear and guilt – the very things Jesus intended to remove from our lives. Jesus suffered for all sins. I’m sorry but I just don’t buy the notion that if I sin in some way, Jesus is going to explicitly feel additional pain that He wouldn’t have felt had I not done that. To me that’s just plain superstition and might be useful to enslave and control people, but not to liberate and free them.

Do you really think Jesus wants to “rub it in our face” that we hurt Him? Q: How much did He say the woman washing His feet with her tears, had hurt Him? A: none: she loved Him and served as His example of love against the “non-sinning” Pharisees. Q: How much did He say the tax collector in the “Pharisee and the tax collector” harmed Him? A: none – the tax collector went home justified.

A contrite sinner is gold to Him; these are the people He came for. A righteous person exists only in their own mind, and if they decide I am not as good as them according to their standards, then they are the ones who caused Jesus to get angry and go off berserk on them verbally – like He did to the moneychangers in the temple. I think the moneychangers must have hurt Him; even He was taken surprise by their brazen behavior.

I figure this is a good of a list as any on the avoid entirely issue:

Prov 6.
16 There are six things the Lord hates,
yes, seven are an abomination to him;
17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,
18 A heart that plots wicked schemes,
feet that are quick to run to evil,
19 The false witness who utters lies,
and the one who sows discord among kindred.

So those who are boastful and arrogant may have something to worry about. Is an act of arrogance today, painful to Jesus back on the cross? I submit that no, He probably didn’t feel one little “pinch” that would be from that act, but collectively His actions were for all of human nature.

So it’s like if we threw all the sins we are sorry for into a dumpster, Jesus empties the dumpster and they are gone. His one act of emptying the dumpster takes care of the whole batch so if I throw one more little bag of regrets into it, it goes out without any additional action. All I have to do is throw my bag in; I don’t have to schedule another emptying because it’s an All for One deal. 🙂

Not that I can know any of this of course, but it just doesn’t make sense to me that He suffers specific extra pain for each one of our sins – except to the extent that He rejoices when become repentant.

Luke 15:7
“I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.”

MS
Click to expand...
Edit: nvm, I understand what your saying now and I agree. 🙂

God Bless

Thank you for reading
Josh
 
I just got an idea.

Maybe “offering them up” is the same as “letting them go?”

Like: pain is inevitable, but “suffering” in the mental/emotional sense, is optional. Jesus felt great deal of pain, but I fancy that in His heart and soul, He rejoiced because He knew what was to come.

So yes things can be a pain, physically, financially, moral dilemmas, etc. but they don’t have to get us down. They can’t steal our joy. Christ showed how to endure it with perfect serenity, love, and mercy.

🙂
 
Thank you Josh, I just finished reading the link -Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, that you provided, and it was extremely helpful.
 
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