Based on the 2nd Chapter of 1rst Peter, verses 19-25, this written for and given at the Lynnville (IL) UMC on April 17, 2005…

       My fourth-grade teacher didn’t like me very much. Well, actually, I don’t think she liked anybody very much! She was one of those still left from ‘the old school’ of thinking that promoted discipline above all else… that was her class room, and by golly, you better not forget it… or cause any problems while in it! And I was one who just seemed to cause problems, even though I never really saw it as such!

       One example that comes to mind was the time two of my classmates started fighting in the hall while we were all taking a bathroom break. I walked right into the middle of them, held out my arms and told them to break it up! That was the moment that one of the other teachers walked out to see what the disturbance was all about and hauled all three of us off to our teacher. “But I was trying to stop it,” I cried! “Yeah, I know how you were trying to stop it,” she said!

And so it was that I soon found myself sitting outside of the principal’s office along side the other two. The fact that it was my first trip there but the other two were already sort-of regulars added some credence to my story, but I still found myself suffering the same punishment as they did… so much for trying to do a good deed!

Now, that’s a very simplified example of what Peter starts off talking about in these verses this morning… if you suffer for doing good and endure it, it is commendable before God. However, I think he had something far more intense in mind. In the verse prior to these, Peter says… “Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh,” so these verses are actually addressed to them, but they apply equally as well to us today!  

The Life Application Commentary tells us that, “Many slaves would have heard this letter read to them because many of the early church members were slaves. Roman law regulated the treatment of slaves, but ultimately masters had power over their slaves. Many masters were “good and considerate” (especially those who were Christians), but many were “harsh” (perhaps especially with slaves who had become believers). …Harsh masters could inflict cruel punishments upon slaves, considered as property, usually by whipping or beating them with a stick. Like thieves, runaway slaves were branded on the forehead. Others were imprisoned. Many slaves died from mistreatment or imprisonment, but it was illegal to take the life of a slave without a court order. In some cases, a master might take out his anger on his slaves, even though the slaves had done nothing to incur any wrath.

Many of the readers of this letter would have known all too well what it meant to [bear] up under the pain of unjust suffering. Peter had learned about suffering from Jesus. He knew that Jesus’ suffering was part of God’s plan and was intended to save people. He also knew that all who follow Jesus must be prepared to suffer. Thus it would be commendable or praiseworthy if these believers trusted in God as they endured any “pain”… caused by unjust suffering.

By being conscious of God when they suffered, they were remembering God’s care and love for them even as they suffered. They focused on the fact that they were suffering injustice as Christ had suffered injustice, and they knew that one day God would right all wrongs. This gave them the proper attitude, enabled them to persevere, and kept their practice from being mere passive acceptance.”

Some years ago I wrote a letter to a person who had lost a close family member… I’d like to read an excerpt from it now, modified only to hide their identity and update it to now…

“I once bid on and bought a book titled ‘Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People’. I’ve never read it! The fact is, I already know! Or should I say I know what the answers are supposed to be.

“I am no stranger to sorrow. Over the years I have tried to deal with it in different ways. None of them work very well, but the ‘easiest’ always seemed to be to bury the hurt deep inside and pretend it didn’t exist anymore. Many has been the time that I have had to do this in my own life, and because of that those around me have often gotten the impression that I ‘really had my act together’, dealing with life and moving on.

“And so it became common practice for my friends, and through them others, to come to me for ‘counseling’ them through their problems. And I would sit, sometimes for hours, and listen to life stories about break-ups, school, drugs, parents, and yes, even unexpected deaths, and be expected to spout out words that would ease the pain and make everything all right. And I did know the words! I could talk sense and logic about why almost anything happened and what the person should, logically, be feeling and doing about it. And they would sit back and agree, sometimes through their tears, that I was absolutely right… that what I said did make sense and that that was what they should be feeling and doing!

“You know what? IT MADE ABSOLUTELY NO DIFFERENCE! And as I went through my various life situations I discovered why. When my heart was full of pain, and life seemed unendurable, knowing the ‘reasons’ and the ‘wherefores’ made no difference! There is no reason or logic in the world that can counteract a real hurt. All we can do is live our way through it. And that can be the absolute hardest thing to do!

“Why do bad things happen to good people? Why do good things happen to bad people? What is the point of believing in and following a God who seems either to have no control or, at the least, refuses to exercise any control over such things? And if all of this “GOD” stuff is in doubt, do any of the ‘truths’ and ‘beliefs’ that we have held mean anything? Indeed, does life mean anything?

“Why does God ‘let things happen’? Most Pastors would probably tell you that He doesn’t, or that we just can’t always understand His ways. And that is true. But what DIFFERENCE does it make when a person is hurting RIGHT NOW? Why does life have to be like this RIGHT NOW!? Do you want the truth? I don’t know! And I doubt that anyone alive today really does.

“I can only tell you this. There have been a lot of times in my life when I was alone. I don’t mean physically, but mentally, spiritually, and psychologically alone. In other words, I could be at a high school dance or football game and surrounded by hundreds of people and feel totally alone. I could be at a church service or youth event with countless others and feel totally alone. I could be with family or friends, or even that ‘special someone’ and feel totally alone. But through it all, when I look back on my life from this end I can see that I have NEVER really been totally alone! Even during the years of my life that I tried to deny even the existence of a ‘god figure’, I can see now that God never denied my existence, and has always been there.’

Now, I grant you that Peter’s remarks in this morning’s verses were more intended for those who suffer and/or are persecuted because of their belief in God and Jesus… but I put it to you that many of us suffer in silence for just living our day-to-day lives! One might suffer when we consider why so-and-so got that promotion instead of us… why that neighbor who has never seen the inside of a church can afford a new car while many of us can’t… or why that drug-addict survived the accident while the child and mother both died… I mean, it’s one thing to be a martyr when a person is speaking out and standing up for Christ and trying to make the world a better place and suffering the ‘slings and arrows’ of ridicule, or even, in some cases, physical retaliation because of it… that’s what Peter is talking about when he said that we should consider and follow the example of Jesus… “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.” But living life day-by-day involves far more than just that kind of suffering!

The Life Application Commentary says that… “We may suffer for many reasons. Some suffering comes as the direct result of our own sin; some happens because of our foolishness; and some is the result of living in a fallen world. Peter writes about suffering that comes as a result of doing good. Jesus never sinned, and yet he suffered so that we could be set free. When we follow Christ’s example and live for others, we too may suffer. Our goal should be to face suffering as he did — with patience, calmness, and confidence, knowing that God controls the future.

When Peter says,‘to this you have been called’, he is referring back to suffering for doing good. Why have believers been “called” to unjust suffering? Because such suffering was endured by Christ. Jesus had told Peter and the other disciples at the Last Supper: “No servant is greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also”. When we patiently suffer injustice, we are following our supreme example in Christ. He suffered great injustice in order to obtain our salvation:

• He endured the unbelief of his own people.
• He endured a trial by religious leaders already committed to his death.
• He endured the lies of false witnesses.
• He endured beating and mockery from his people and from the Roman soldiers.
• He endured merciless flogging.
• He endured an excruciatingly painful death by crucifixion.
• He endured the insults of bystanders as he suffered on the cross.
• He endured a time of separation from God.”

Jesus understands our suffering… even when we don’t! One of the reasons He became a man and lived among us was so that He might understand all that it means to be human and live in this confusing world of ours day by day! As Peter sums up this chapter, we are all like sheep who have gone astray… but through our belief and our faith, we have returned to the Shepherd. And as any sheep might attest to, we might not always know why we are being led here or there… we might not understand the ‘mechanics’ of our day-to-day existence… but we trust in our Shepherd! We trust in our Lord and Saviour to always have our ultimate best interests to heart!

In the Gospel of John, Jesus says… “I tell you the truth…. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice…

“I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep… whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.”

       I may not know why it sometimes seems like bad things happen to good people… I may wonder at how ‘success’ sometimes seems to come too easily to the undeserving… but I trust in my Shepherd… and I will strive to follow wherever He leads!