People like to think Christianity is if you just believe in God he will bless you. But the reality is Jesus preached and taught that his followers would have to suffer. He was a king with a throne, but first he had to go to the cross. And in order to be his follower, he said we must suffer and be rejected as well – indeed, that we would have to “pick up our cross and follow [him].”

Why would we sign up for this? What would make it worthwhile to suffer? This week we continue our “God is…” series to see how Jesus’ claim as King makes suffering something not just to be avoided, but embraced.