Read with Me
1 Peter 3:17-18a
For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.
For Christ also suffered for sins once for all,
the righteous for the unrighteous,
that He might bring you to God,
Listen with Me
Suffering to some degree is inevitable in the broken world in which we live. But there is a suffering that comes from doing wrong. That suffering can come through natural consequences of wrong actions, such as damage caused to one’s body through drug abuse. It can come through punishment by the authorities that God has put in place to maintain order (Romans 13:1-7), such as being arrested, fined, or jailed for evil actions that break laws. And it can come as a direct punishment from God for rebellion against Hs commands. Even though many today don’t believe that God punishes sins directly since Jesus came, they forget the many examples in the book of acts, such as Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11) and Elymas (Acts 13:8-12).
On the other hand, a person can suffer for doing right, as Peter himself knew from personal experience. The orientation of so many toward the darkness makes them despise the light and moves them to try to extinguish it whenever it shines brightly, exposing their spiritual ugliness and the errors of their thoughts and actions.
Peter’s point is that since suffering is ultimately unavoidable, it is better by far to suffer for doing good than to suffer the consequences of doing evil. Even Jesus Himself suffered, not for any evil actions, but because He was the light of God in the world, and therefore He was hated by those who walked in the darkness of sin and refused to come out.
But at the same time, the suffering of Jesus was not purposeless. Instead, He permitted His enemies to persecute Him, torture Him, and even kill Him in order to die for the sins of humanity once and for all. And the end goal of that sacrificial death was to open a way for sinful people to find true forgiveness and transformation of heart and mind, so that we can live in God’s presence here and now, as well as through all eternity.
Pray with Me
Father, despite the clear teaching all through the New Testament that suffering is inevitable but blessed by Your presence and survivable with Your power, many Christians believe that if we follow You, we will experience only blessing, peace and joy. A corollary of that belief is that if we do experience suffering, it must be because we have done something wrong, or because You have failed to keep Your promise. But Lord, You are faithful to Your word always. And even though You never promised Your people a trouble-free life, quite the opposite, in fact, You did promise to never leave us or forsake us, and to give us Your power to be more than conquerors in the midst of the trials and challenges we do face (Romans 8:31-39). And I can testify that You have kept that promise in my own life, and You have even turned those challenges I have faced and overcome in Your power into opportunities to share Your goodness and Your message of life with others. Thank You, lord.