Are you suffering for 'doing good'? Read Peter's words

A calling from God is a noble, exciting, and gracious privilege.

Peter tells people who once lived in ignorance, who were led by evil desires, that they are called to be holy, like God (1 Peter 1v15-16). He builds up the church by telling them they have the honour of being called out of darkness into God’s wonderful light (2v9).

Suffering for 'doing good'

Now, he tells them they are called to suffer for doing good.

For Peter, slaves are models of Christian living. When they suffer for doing good – indeed, when any Christian suffers for doing good – then they are following the example of Jesus Christ. This is their calling (2v21). This is your calling. It is a noble, exciting, and gracious privilege.

When suffering comes, you have a calling to avoid committing sin and to keep deceitful speech away from your lips. This is how Jesus lived. When insults come your way, follow the steps of Jesus and do not retaliate. Instead, remember your calling to repay insult with blessing (3v9-10). It is so easy to obsess about the perfect retort or to plot some way of protecting your honour by exposing or bringing down the one who has insulted you. Jesus did not do this. He was rejected by humans but knew that He was precious and honourable to God.

God is just

When Jesus suffered, He made no threats but entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly. Judgement belongs to the Lord God. We can be confident that justice will be delivered in God’s good timing. Do you hold bitterness against someone who harmed you? Are you being eaten up by your inability to avenge some great evil? The Judge of all the Earth will do right. Entrust yourself to Him. Entrust your anger and bitterness and confusion and desire for revenge to Him.

When you suffer for doing good, trust that God is doing good through your suffering. When Jesus suffered, He bore our sins in His body on the tree; the curse was turned to blessing, you were put to death with Christ and you were raised with Christ. Now die to your sins and live for righteousness. His death and resurrection is your righteousness before the Judge. You might suffer for righteousness’ sake, but this is blessing (3v14).

When wounded by others, look to God

Suffering may wound you. Remember that by Jesus’ wounds you have healing, then ask God to work in you so that your suffering in the body might lead to the healthiness of a life that is finished with sin (4v1). Better to go through life scarred internally and externally from the wounds of others, because you were living for God, than to avoid insults and suffering by surrendering to the ways of the world.

Suffering for doing good is your calling. You are following the steps of the suffering Christ, yet you will discover that you are following the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls (2v25). The steps may be painful but surely your Shepherd is leading you to green pastures. In fact, He is leading you to glory. The final reference to “calling” in 1 Peter comes near the end of the letter (5v10): “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”

Suffering for doing good is a calling. By this calling, Christ leads you to the glory for which you were called. All callings from God are a noble, exciting, and gracious privilege.