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In our pursuit of knowing God’s will and enjoying His pleasure, we have discovered that undeserved suffering may be a part of His will for each of us, and that He is pleased when we handle these experiences well. His pleasure springs, not from the fact that we are suffering, but from the family resemblance that is evident in those times. Because when we behave this way, we look like His Son. Like one of His children.

This family trait is so significant that Peter devotes his entire first epistle to it.

Last week, we looked at a major portion of chapters 2 and 3 of that epistle. In 3:8, he summarizes everything back to 2:11 with the exhortation to “be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit, not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead.”

The reason? We were “called for the very purpose that [we] might inherit a blessing” (v.9). He expands on this by quoting a significant portion of Psalm 34 (vv. 12-16), which is also written to those facing affliction. Like 1 Peter, it accepts affliction as a normal part of life, and does not give a false hope that God will keep us from suffering, acknowledging that “Many are the afflictions of the righteous” (v. 19), but assures us that “the Lord delivers Him out of them all.” 

In this quote of Psalm 34, Peter’s point is fleshed out.

• The blessing is temporal – to have life, to love and see good days.
• The path to this blessing is through righteous living, manifested in keeping our tongue from evil and our lips from speaking deceit, turning away from evil and doing good, seeking peace and pursuing it
• God favors those who are righteous by this standard and hears their prayers, but is opposed to those who do evil.

The net effect of this is to say, “God called you so that He could bless you, and the path to this blessing is through doing good, through being harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit, not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead (v. 9-10). Not all God’s children experience the blessing offered here, but only on those who manifest a family likeness.

Now, look at how he expects this to work out (v. 13). His assumption is that hardly anyone is going to harm us if we live this way, repaying evil and insult with blessing.

However, acknowledging that we do sometimes suffer for the sake of righteousness, he offers the following perspective on such unjust suffering:

• In the event you do suffer, you are blessed, nonetheless. Note that blessing does not mean the absence of suffering, and that suffering does not undermine blessing. Suffering does not nullify God’s promises, so don’t let it unsettle you (v. 14).
• In such situations, choose to obey Christ (sanctify Christ as Lord), not your own instincts to repay in kind, and be ready to explain to people the hope that you have which allows you to handle suffering in this way (v. 15).
• Also in these situations, behave in such a way that your conscience is clear, and those who accuse you will be embarrassed by their hollow accusations (v. 16).
• All suffering is not the same, some is better than others. If you repay evil for evil, or insult for insult, you are repeating the same evil deed which was committed against you. Any justification you may claim is irrelevant. If it was wrong for them to do it, it is wrong for you to do it. So, if someone does you wrong, and you respond in kind, you also have done wrong. Any suffering that results from your actions is suffering for doing what is wrong. There is no benefit in this. You are simply getting what you deserve. But if you repay evil and insult with blessing, instead of repaying in kind, you are doing what is right. This is better (v. 17).
• The reason it is better is seen in the example of Jesus. We benefited from His unjust suffering, because, through it, we were brought to God. And, his experience of unjust suffering did not hinder His experience of blessing, for while He was put to death in the physical realm, which is temporary, He was made alive in the spiritual realm, which  is permanent and far superior (v. 18).

Although Peter is not finished with his explanation of why we should bear up under unjust suffering, it is worth pausing here to let the points he has just made sink in.

When we are treated wrongly, we face a choice. We can respond in kind, repaying evil for evil, and insult for insult. However, there is no benefit to choosing this option. Any hardship that we experience as a result of our actions is justly deserved, and because we have chosen to do evil, God’s face is set against us. We can expect no blessing, no deliverance.

On the other hand, if we respond by guarding our words, speaking no evil and avoiding deceit; if we turn away from evil and do good; if we seek peace and pursue it, the benefits are significant.

First, we are assured of God’s temporal blessing, in spite of any suffering we may experience.

Second, we have the assurance that God will hear our prayers, and in due time, deliver us out of our afflictions.

Third, this kind of response creates opportunities for us to explain the hope that motivates us. Just as Christ’s unjust suffering brought us to God, so our unjust suffering can be instrumental in helping others learn of the hope available through Christ.

There is one benefit remaining to be explored, perhaps the most significant of all – the benefit that will be ours when we move from the physical to the spiritual realm.

How does blessing impact suffering?

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