Seeds for 06/19/2024 - 1 Peter 4:12-13
Scripture:
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. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed.
Observation:
It isn’t simply what happens to us but how we respond that makes the greatest difference. This is one of the seminal lessons of Viktor Frankl’s great work, Man’s Search for Meaning. Frankl says it this way:
"Life is never made unbearable by circumstances, but only by lack of meaning and purpose."
Nearly two thousand years beforehand, Peter knew this truth and wanted his readers to know it too. Christians in the first century (and beyond) at various times and places faced differing types of persecutions and challenges. The “fiery ordeal” to which Peter refers is most likely a harsh social ostracism or marginalization, though there could be a physical dimension to it.
There are two keys things happening in these verses that are relevant for us today.
First, in verse 12, Peter addresses our tendency to assume that troubles are strange and unusual. Jesus Himself said, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Peter knows that holding firm to belief and trust in Jesus will result in opposition from those who disdain Jesus and God’s ways. While it’s true that Christians can and must work on the winsomeness of their witness and on having a spirit of grace, we fool ourselves if we think that will be enough in every circumstance. Some are simply opposed to God. Christians can be winsome and gracious, and we should be. But if we hold to Christian doctrine and morality, we will face trials. Peter’s advice is sound: “do not be surprised… as though something strange were happening to you.”
Second, Peter engages in what we would today call, “reframing.” Instead of being surprised and rattled by trials and opposition, rejoice that we share in the sufferings of Christ. That’s where Frankl’s wisdom comes in. He captures in modern experience an ancient truth: meaning and purpose allow us to handle any circumstance. Peter wants us to understand that in Jesus, we have the ultimate meaning and purpose possible. It isn’t subjective or contrived. It is grounded in objective, ultimate truth—the death and resurrection of Jesus, who is Son of God, Savior of the world, and Lord of all creation! Serving Him means that any suffering or challenges that we face only provide us opportunity to identify with Him more completely and mature in our discipleship to Him.
For those reasons, the trials that would otherwise bring us down become incredible opportunities to draw us closer to Him.
Application:
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, ground me in my relationship with you, so that any trials I face lead me deeper into your heart. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
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