A Welcome Mat for an Unwelcomed Guest

1 Peter 4:12-14, CEB – Dear friends, don’t be surprised about the fiery trials that have come among you to test you. These are not strange happenings.  Instead, rejoice as you share Christ’s suffering. You share his suffering now so that you may also have overwhelming joy when his glory is revealed.  If you are mocked because of Christ’s name, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory—indeed, the Spirit of God—rests on you.

Every New Testament writer writes about the sufferings of Christians and today, we see that Peter is no different.  This should be no surprise, for almost all of the New Testament books were written before 100AD and for that entire century, Christians were persecuted.  So, it’s not surprising that all of the NT authors write about suffering. 

What is surprising is that all the authors write essentially the same thing about suffering.  Suffering is not to be avoided or received as a punishment, but received as a privilege and opportunity to grow.  Just as the suffering of Christ is redemptive for all of us, our suffering can be a redemptive catalyst for growth.  We can connect with Christ more deeply because he shares in our difficulty and he knows our pain.  We can learn things through the experience of suffering that can’t be learned any other way.  The gospel writers taught this.  Paul taught this.  Peter taught this. James and John taught this.  They taught it not just because persecuted Christians in the first century needed to hear it, but because you cannot understand faith in a crucified Savior unless you understand the holy role that suffering plays in redemption.

“No pain, no gain,” does not originate from 20^th century athletic trainers.  It is a timeless spiritual truth.  All the world’s religions talk about suffering, but none hold up it’s redemptive power like Christianity.  We proclaim boldly that we are saved by suffering.  So it doesn’t make any sense that we would try to avoid it or curse it when it comes.  We are taught to welcome it like we would a revered teacher for that is who Suffering is to us. 

I say that with conviction, but I have to confess that I do it rarely.  My habit is not to welcome suffering, but to get sad and angry about it.  After that, I try to fix it.  When that doesn’t work, I pretend it isn’t there.  I do all that knowing that most of my most deeply held wisdom has come during periods of suffering.  Yet my welcome mat for suffering is rarely out on the doorstep. 

It’s clear that I have a long way to go on this front.  I’m pretty sure I’m not alone, though.  However, awareness of the gap between my convictions and my actions can form the foundation for transformation.  I’m banking on that.  I believe you can too.

Question:  What is your first, second, and third reactions to suffering when it arrives at your front door?  Do you believe that it can be actually be a gift?

Prayer:  Jesus, you came to become one of us knowing that doing so would bring you great suffering.  You did with the knowledge that your suffering would show once and for all how loving redemption is accomplished.  May we welcome times of suffering as an opportunity to experience that redemption more deeply than we do know.  Amen.

Prayer Focus:  Pray for peace in the midst of the escalating violence in Israel and Palestine.

Song:  Bring the Rain – MercyMe