Wednesday Wisdom
February 24, 2021
1 Peter 3:18-22
Written to believers in Rome who were under the Great Persecution, the first letter of Peter was written to encourage them in their faith in Jesus Christ. The passage demonstrates that we can live with the suffering we experience as we remember the persecution Christ endured on our behalf. In other words, there is nothing that we experience now that can compare to what Jesus endured. That is a truth but it is not helpful when we are enduring pain, sorrow, grief, and turmoil in our circumstances.
Instead, I think we need to view the passage in three ways:
- That the words Peter wrote so long ago can ground us in our faith, even as we suffer. We tend to focus on the more serious things in our lives – whether that is illness, circumstances, or broken relationships – whatever the suffering is, we tend to stay mired in it. Sometimes, we cannot see others’ suffering because we are focused on our own. It is human nature to do so but as we are encouraged in our faith to walk with others in their pain, we grow compassionate.
- The passage refers to God’s covenant with Noah and the eight people who were saved through the water. This reminds those of us who are suffering that there is power in our baptism. We are anchored in the love of God. God has claimed us for His own. The power of our baptism is the love of God which reminds us that God is always with us. Emmanuel!
- The passage also refers to Christ’s resurrection, reminding us believers to be examples of Jesus Christ in the world through our suffering. In short, sometimes, the purpose of our own suffering is to come closer to God and allow us to shine Christ’s light for others to see. That does not mean that we have to be “Pollyanna-ish” as we suffer. Instead, we can be authentic even as we struggle, never losing the final hope of our own Resurrection into which we have been baptized with Christ.
Suffering – who needs it? We all do, if for no other reason than to ground us in our faith, reminding us of the power of our baptism into that faith and that we are connected to Christ for all time and space.
Pastor Brenda