“Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ. Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong! Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit. So he went and preached to the spirits in prison— those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat. Only eight people were saved from drowning in that terrible flood. And that water is a picture of baptism, which now saves you, not by removing dirt from your body, but as a response to God from a clean conscience. It is effective because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now Christ has gone to heaven. He is seated in the place of honor next to God, and all the angels and authorities and powers accept his authority.”
1 Peter 3:13-22 NLT
Followers of Jesus will suffer. It is natural to want to avoid pain in life – even Peter ran from danger and denied Jesus to avoid suffering. From his mistakes, Peter learned that following Jesus would include suffering. This does not mean we should not fight against injustice and use the power we have to make the world right. This also does not mean we should see consequences for bad choices as a “suffering like Jesus” thing. Jesus suffered when He had done no wrong; there will be times where we will suffer like this as well.
When we suffer like Christ, we can bring healing to the world. When undeserved physical or emotional pain is given to us and we stand strong without retaliation – Christ is glorified, we speak to the conscience of our persecutors, and we truly live out our faith. We end the cycle of hate and revenge and give our persecutors nothing to hate in us – for we return love. This is the strategy that Martin Luther King Jr. used in Montgomery during the protests and boycotts – let them yell at you and hit you, stand back up, sing your spiritual songs, and know your faith. You have a strength inside of you, and you know in Jesus you are right. Show your persecutors you know God’s truth, and you might win their hearts. Don’t give into hate and lose your faith. In living this way of Jesus, you break the cycle of hate and vengeance and make a stand for injustice. You will have to suffer to make it happen. This is the way of Jesus. This is the way of peace.
Are you willing to walk the way of suffering and peace with Jesus today? When you suffer for doing nothing wrong, how do you deal with it?
