Hammer on Anvil '

Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church (Colossians 1:24).

I have often read this verse and wondered what it meant to "fill up in my flesh what is lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions." What could possibly be lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions?

Christ took the sins of the whole world on himself, and nothing can be added to the atonement He provided for us. One commentary suggests this verse refers to the affliction that all Christ followers must endure to truly be His disciples.

According to Oswald Chambers, every time we insist on our own rights, we hurt the Son of God -- but we can prevent Jesus from being hurt if we remember His honor is at stake in our lives, and respond accordingly. "Filling up what is lacking" means not doing merely your duty, but going above and beyond. It means, "If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also" (Matthew 5:39).

Chambers says, "To the saint, personal insult becomes the occasion of revealing the incredible sweetness of the Lord Jesus." Anybody can respond in knee-jerk fashion when they are insulted, but it takes the Spirit of God in a person to overlook the insult and respond as Christ would have responded.

Instead of insisting on our own way and demanding what we perceive to be "our rights," let us humble ourselves before God and one another. Chambers notes, "The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is 'Never look for justice, but never cease to live it.'"