Suffering

Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right. (1 Peter 4:19 NASB)

Some may be surprised to find these words written by Peter. It may sound odd to some that suffering is according to God’s will. To be sure, not all suffering is God’s will as Peter explains a bit earlier in the chapter. But he is very clear that God wills suffering. If one suffers as a Christian, she should not be embarrassed or ashamed but rather glorify God. There have been many admirers of Jesus that are content to let Him die on their behalf while finding it preposterous that they themselves should suffer in the slightest degree. There have even been some teachers who have taken suffering off the Christian’s To Do List and added it to the list of The Things To Avoid At All Cost along with poverty and bad haircuts. They have mistaken smiles for joy and arrogance for faith. By removing suffering out of the Christian life they have made it nearly impossible for one to become Christ’s disciple. They have taken Christ off the Cross because they find it awkward to admire a man who suffers. So they will remain His admirers at best but will never become His followers. To follow Jesus is to suffer. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “suffering is the fruit of an exclusive allegiance to Jesus Christ.” Suffering is essentially Christian. There are many benefits to suffering that make a true disciple rejoice and glorify God. One such benefit is that suffering is a sign of authenticity. When we look at something beautiful, like a piece of jewelry, we are likely to doubt its authenticity if there are no scratches or scrapes. If it looks perfect, it may be too perfect to be real. If a Christian has not suffered she may not be a true disciple but only an admirer of Jesus. Scratches, scrapes and scars prove that we are real, that we live and follow Him who was bruised and broken. Those marks do not make a piece of jewelry any less valuable or perfect just like suffering does not make one any less of a Christian. On contrary, such scratches add value to jewelry. If one looks close enough she will see that they are not random scratches but an elaborate engraving made by the hand of a master craftsman.