My Sunday School class has just finished the book of First Peter, which has a lot of great teaching. While the major theme of the book is suffering (which I’ll get to in a moment), here is a sample of many significant verses:
- A definite reference to the trinity (1 Peter 1:2)
- Suffering is proof of your faith (1 Peter 1:6-7, 9, 4:12)
- The prophets predicted the suffering of Christ (1 Peter 1:11)
- We are called to be holy, fear God and love others (1 Peter 1:15, 17, 22, 4:8)
- The Word of God abides forever (1 Peter 1:24-25)
- We are to be hungry to understand God’s Word (1 Peter 2:2)
- We are to be living stones (1 Peter 2:5)
- Live with integrity while passing through this life (1 Peter 2:11)
- We are to submit to the authorities (1 Peter 2:13-14, 18)
- We find favor with God when we suffer for doing what is right (1 Peter 2:20, 3:14, 17, 4:14, 16, 19, 5:10)
- Jesus is our example, we are to follow in His steps (1 Peter 2:21)
- Lifestyle evangelism really is in the Bible (1 Peter 3:1)
- God doesn’t hear your prayers if you don’t treat your wife right (1 Peter 3:7)
- Always be ready to tell others why you are a believer (1 Peter 3:15)
- Jesus preached to the spirits now in prison (1 Peter 3:19)
- Just where is Jesus right now? (1 Peter 3:22)
- Live for God, not the pleasures of today (1 Peter 4:2)
- Exercise your spiritual gift (1 Peter 4:10)
- Judgment begins with the household of God (1 Peter 4:17)
- Pastors are to shepherd the flock of God (1 Peter 5:2)
- Younger men need older mentors (1 Peter 5:5)
- We are to humble ourselves before God does it for us (1 Peter 5:6)
- We have a spiritual enemy ready to devour us (1 Peter 5:8)
- We are told to greet each other with a kiss of love (1 Peter 5:14)
Back to the topic for today:
When we suffer in our lives, we often will think that we did something wrong to deserve the suffering, as if it were some sort of punishment; sort of a cause and effect relationship. While the law of sowing and reaping is very true (Galatians 6:7-8, 2 Corinthians 9:6) and God will at time discipline those whom He loves (Hebrews 12:6), the universe would be quite an unreliable place if God shot us a lightning bolt for every evil deed and triggered some pleasure sensor for doing good. Let’s consider the story of the man born blind in John 9:
“Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?” “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.” (John 9:2-3)
A common belief in Jewish culture was that bad happenings or suffering was the result of some great sin, but Jesus used this man’s suffering to teach about faith and the glory of God. We live in a fallen world where good behavior is not always rewarded and bad behavior is not always punished. Therefore, innocent people sometimes suffer. Jesus said the rain falls on the just and the unjust alike (Matthew 5:45).
On a larger scale, think about the reason that people follow God. Do they believe and follow God because of what they get out of it, or because He deserves our devotion and it’s the right thing to do? Think it over. Do you follow Christ because He promised heaven at the end of this life? Would you still follow Him even if you knew hell was your final destination? If God took suffering away whenever we asked, we would follow him for comfort and convenience, not out of love and devotion. Regardless of the reasons for our suffering, Jesus has the power to help us deal with it. We don’t go through this life alone.
So, when you suffer from a disease, tragedy, or disability, try not to ask, “Why did this happen to me?” or “What did I do wrong?” Instead, ask God to give you strength for the trial and a clearer perspective on what is happening. First Peter tells us that you will be blessed and rewarded.