“Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. ¹³ But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.”

I’m always surprised by suffering. I’m not sure why, but I expect good things to happen to me and am caught off guard by the “fiery ordeals.” I forget that Jesus was a man of sorrows. I don’t think this meant that Jesus walked around in a bad mood all the time, but rather that the arch of Jesus’s life was bent toward suffering. He was born to die. He was sent into the world as God’s Lamb and the Lamb was meant for sacrifice. 

Peter wants the suffering Christians of his day and ours to see our sufferings as connected to our identity in Christ. Our suffering is a “participation” in the sufferings of Christ. When we suffer as Christians we should count it as an honor. Our salvation from sin came through the suffering of Jesus and perhaps our suffering with Jesus, will lead to others knowing the source of their salvation. We should be ready and count it an honor to suffer for and with Jesus. 

Growing up there were a number of U.S. Senators who had been wounded in combat. One such Senator was Daniel Inouye. Inouye was a Japanese American whose parents had immigrated to Hawaii. He was a senior in High School when Pearl Harbor was bombed. He sought to enlist in the U.S. Army but was initially banned because all Japanese Americans were deemed “enemy aliens.”  When later the Army created a Nisei combat unit, Inouye joined. During the battle in Italy, Inouye was struck by a German grenade that led to the amputation of his right arm. He was reported to have ordered his fellow soldiers who had stopped to tend to him back to their positions yelling, “Nobody called off the war!”

Once I heard Senator Inouye’s story I had new respect for the empty sleeve that hung from his shoulder. It signified a connection to a sacrifice from which I had benefited undeservedly. Our society honors those who gave themselves for our nation. How much more should we not only honor our Savior who gave himself for us, but count it an honor when we also suffer for the name of Christ? The suffering of Christ came to an end. His humiliation preceded his exaltation. So, it is with the followers of Christ. We may be humiliated now, we may suffer now, we may be filled with sorrow now, but that will soon be turned to joy. Christ is returning. Our pain is limited. Our joy, glory, and honor will be unlimited. Live your life in a way that shows the honor of being a follower of Jesus.