2002-01-01
Good morning Dear Ones,
Peter continues his discussion of suffering for doing what is right in today’s passage, 1 PET 3: 13-17. “Who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? But even if you should suffer for doing what is right, how happy you are! Do not be afraid of anyone, and do not worry. But have reverence for Christ in your heart, honor Him as Lord. Be ready at all times to answer anyone who asks you to explain the hope you have in you, but do it with gentleness and respect. Keep your conscience clear, so that when you are insulted, those who speak evil of your good conduct as followers of Christ will become ashamed of what they say. For it is better to suffer for doing good if this should be God’s will, then for doing evil.”
Christ spoke on true happiness, the kind that transcends the grave, in His Sermon on the Mount found in MT 5: 3-12. I hope you will read it. One statement in particular that He made takes up the issue of suffering for righteousness; that is in MT 5: 10, “Happy are those who are persecuted because they do what God requires; the Kingdom of heaven belongs to them.” There are so many ways that human beings suffer, but only God can give us a spiritually healthy perspective on it. The ways of the world are to strike out in anger against God or another person or to throw up one’s hands to give up. God’s way is to see our suffering as Paul described it in RO 5: 3-4. “We also boast of our troubles, because we know that that trouble produces endurance, endurance brings God’s approval, and His approval creates hope.” If we understand that God doesn’t produce suffering but sometimes allows it for a higher purpose (to further our sanctification), then we don’t have to strike out in anger or give up. Sometimes that higher purpose of our sanctification is also coupled with God’s own purpose to carry out His will in bringing another person to faith or bringing many people to faith. That is most certainly true of the suffering that His apostles endured for example.
Paul described his suffering 2 COR 11: 23-33, which I hope you will read. This was not to make us feel sorry for him, but to be put on the backdrop of all that He wrote that tells us that he understood God’s perspective on this suffering and wanted us to understand it too. Suffering is not always physical as Paul’s was. Often, it is emotional. I have first hand experience with that, because a member of my own family has accused me of being a “religious freak” resulting from his observations of my behavior in trying to work through a family conflict. Being a part of a family as divided as mine is no picnic, but God has brought me into this situation for His higher purpose. My faith in Him, which I have through the Holy Spirit, tells me that. It is because I have been given the gift of this perspective that God has equipped me to endure the rude, emotionally painful, and often illogical behavior demonstrated by certain family members toward my husband and me.
The principle that Peter speaks of in 1 PET 3: 14-15 has its basis in IS 8: 12-13, so let me cite that. “Do not join in the schemes of the people and do not be afraid of the things that they fear. Remember that I, the Lord Almighty, am holy; I am the One you must fear.” It is significant that these verses in Isaiah are followed by (14-15). “Because of My awesome holiness I am like a Stone that people stumble over; I am like a trap that will catch the people of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel and the people of Jerusalem. Many will stumble; they will fall and be crushed. They will be caught in a trap.” When one puts this together with Peter’s discussion in previous messages about Christ as a Stone of stumbling, we begin to see that our loving Abba may be allowing us to be exposed to suffering, but we are not being left without His attention or protection. That is why we have no need to worry when we endure in our faith and put it into practice in our daily lives. When God is saying, “I am the One you must fear,” He is saying in fact, “have reverence for Me. The only ones who really have something to be afraid of are those who make a lifestyle out of rejecting Me.”
One question which today’s passage from Peter might raise is: how can we be ready to explain the hope we have to someone who asks us about it? God leads me to say : 1) know the Scriptures and believe them; 2) experience God’s presence in my life by putting them into practice; 3)continually evaluate myself, without guilt, against the ideal set by Christ; 4) work on expunging sin from my life; 5) love my fellow man as God loves me; 6) have a active, dynamic prayer life-two-way communication with God; 7) ask God to guide me to find a good way and a good time to best reach the person asking; 8) be able to demonstrate more by example than by words that I am making my life a living sacrifice of service pleasing and acceptable to the Lord. God has invited all of us to join Him in His working, knowing that we must make major adjustments to answer this call. That process observed by a potential believer can make a difference for everyone involved. It can be very effective in accomplishing God’s purpose to bring as many people to faith as He can. Each of us is important in that process, and we should never forget that. That is how we can answer the great commission of MT 28: 19-20.
PRAYER: O Lord, we express our gratitude to You for giving us Your Son’s teachings and His very life on the cross. We do not have to wonder how to find happiness, because He tells us the way in His Sermon on the Mount. As if that isn’t enough, You inspired the writers of the Scriptures to give us many more ways that are best summarized in the advice to make You the Lord of our lives. You not only tell us the way to happiness, but You give us practical advice that equips us to handle suffering and gives us Your higher perspective on how we should view it in our lives. The love You have for us blesses us abundantly and points forward to the Day when You will make our spirits immortal and bring us to that great meeting in the air with Christ. That meeting is the prelude to our being included in the wedding feast of the Lamb to follow. You have given us the joy of this hope and the faith that we will eventually live in joy and fellowship for eternity with You. Today, we dedicate our lives to adoring, worshipping, obeying, trusting, being loyal to, and praising You. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, we will finish up Peter’s passage on suffering for righteousness in 1 PET 3: 18-22. We will see a symbol from the OT that points toward baptism and salvation through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is impossible to miss the great and enduring love our Father in heaven has for each of us. Peter (my husband) and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn