Ascension Day
Scripture: 1
Peter 4:12–19; 5:6–11
As we come to the end of the Easter Season, we also conclude
our semi-continuous reading of 1 Peter. Once again this reading confronts us
with suffering for the faith, urging us to live faithful and holy lives when we
suffer – particularly when we suffer for Jesus’ sake – trusting God to bring us
through the suffering into his eternal glory. This serves as an important
message for the Church as it faces a variety of forms of resistance and as
individuals feel the stigma that the world places on those who believe in Jesus
and seek to live faithfully.
Teaching
There is a pernicious false doctrine in the church called
the prosperity gospel. “A prosperity gospel teaches that health, wealth, and
success are the will of God for Christians, whereas God never grants suffering
or poverty. That is to say, suffering is not from God but is always a part of
sin and Satan.”[1] This
belief rejects the idea that suffering can be (and is!) used by God for his
glory, and ignores that it was through suffering, Jesus’ suffering, that God
brought salvation into the world.
This is, of course, not to say that suffering is enjoyable.
It can be the consequence of our own sins. Other times suffering comes upon us
because of the sins of others. In every case, however, God uses suffering in a
variety of ways: to call us to repentance, to make us aware of our need for
him, to help us to depend more fully upon him, to mature us in the faith, and
as an opportunity to witness about our salvation in Jesus’ suffering, death,
and resurrection.
Life
There is a quote that is attributed Cardinal Francis George.
He said, “I expect to die peacefully in my bed, for my successor to die in
jail, and his successor to die a martyr.” He perceives the secularization of
our culture as a threat to the faith that will lead to persecution and
martyrdom. Peter, teaching as Jesus taught him, urges us to not be dismayed
when people reject or mistreat us because of our hope in Christ. Instead, we
pray for our enemies, have mercy on them, and conduct ourselves, as God gives
us grace, in faithful living.
There is a message in this passage that the conduct of our
lives matters. It is, in essence, an expression of our faith and hope that
Jesus has won the victory. This does not mean that we will always be happy, or
that things will always be easy for us. Yet, we see beyond the experiences of this
life to what God has promised to us – forgiveness of sins leading to eternal glory
in Christ! The awesomeness of that promise, and the incredible cost Jesus paid
to secure our salvation, hold us in awe as we live the life of faith.
Prayer
O God, too often your people suffer for Jesus’ sake, yet you
use our suffering for your glory. Thank you for giving value to our pain and
suffering. Forgive us for times we did not trust you in the midst of the
sorrows of this life. Make us bold in faith to live godly lives and, in the
end, to come to you in the glorious place where you have promised to welcome us
because of Jesus’ suffering on our behalf and the forgiveness he won for us.
Amen.
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