The final instalment in the series of Easter season reflections from 1 Peter.
Being marginalised or maligned for the sake of Christ should not come as a surprise to Christians. First of all, it is not at all strange that a world that is in rebellion against its Creator should show hostility towards those who have pledged allegiance to Christ, in whom and for whom the world was made. Secondly, those trials are not without purpose – they test and reveal the genuineness of our faith and that we have made Christ, not being at ease, our true joy.
A proper perspective on suffering for the sake of Christ enables us to endure rather than succumb to external pressures and so leads to the greater (and noisier) joy when Christ is revealed to all for who He is. It is not a case of suffering now for the sake of joy later; we are called to rejoice now. We find joy not in the suffering as such but in the fact that suffering for the name of Christ makes us partners with Him. We rejoice in our association with Christ.
This of course presumes that we do not have brought suffering upon ourselves for good reason. If we suffer as a Christian, there is nothing shameful about it for us and we are to accept this suffering by entrusting ourselves to our faithful Creator, ‘while continuing to do good’ (1 Peter 4:19), refusing to repay evil with evil. Our non-retaliation bears witness to our trust in God. Undeserved suffering will be vindicated, this is why 1 Peter 4:14 speaks of those who are reviled for the name of Christ as blessed, echoing the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:10-12). If the Beatitudes suggest that ‘you are with the king, therefore you will inherit the kingdom,’ 1 Peter 4:14 perhaps means to say that ‘you have the Spirit of God resting on you, therefore glory will be yours, the Spirit of God being the spirit of glory’ but the syntax here is difficult.
Having stressed the importance of putting on ‘the apron of humility’ (TEV of 1 Peter 5:5), the letter comes back to the encouragement to humble ourselves, or perhaps (interpreting the passive form as a genuine passive) to accept being made low, knowing that the hand of God which is mighty in bringing judgement (beginning with the household of God, 1 Peter 4:17) is also mighty in bringing deliverance. How do we accept humiliation? By casting all our anxiety on God. We can do so because we know that He cares for us. The call to alertness in 1 Peter 5:8 indicates that we are not talking about passivity here but active resistance to the one ultimately responsible for the evil in the world. The devil wants to devour us, enticing us to give in to the desires of the flesh (2:11; 4:2-4) or to respond inappropriately to suffering. By not taking matters into our own hands we remain steadfast in faith. Remembering that if we are being harassed or ostracised for the sake of Christ, this is not unique to us – brothers and sisters all over the world are ‘undergoing’ (better: enduring, completing) the same kind of suffering (1 Peter 5:9).
The critical thing is our calling in Christ whose
resurrection has born us into a living hope (cf. 1 Peter 1:3). We know that the
short while of suffering will have to give way to eternal glory. Our God is a
God of all grace and He will make everything right beyond our wildest dreams.
He will take charge of this Himself (1 Peter 5:10). ‘To him is the power
forever and ever’ (1 Peter 5:11; cf. 4:11).
