“For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing. For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit” (1 Peter 3:17–18).
Have you ever suffered? Some children have. You or someone you know may be fighting against a painful disease. Some children have suffered under physical or emotional abuse. Maybe that has happened to you. Or maybe you have lost a friend or a loved one who died. You may have heard of families who have been persecuted for worshiping the God of the Bible.
But most children have not seen heavy, hard suffering yet. Suffering is intense pain that we feel, either on the inside or the outside. Nobody likes suffering! Think about it. Let’s say you are sitting in a lawn chair, sipping pink lemonade under the hot sun, when all of the sudden you hear a strange buzzing sound near your right arm. It’s a bee! A very large bee with a very sharp-looking stinger! What is your first reaction? Do you calmly say, “Mr. Big Scary Bee, sir, please do not poke me today with that painful stinger of yours! I’m right in the middle of my lemonade!”? No! You would probably jump out of your lawn chair really fast, screaming and swatting and running around in circles until you were sure Mr. Big Scary Bee, sir, was gone!
Why is that your response? Because you hate pain. You dread it. You would never seek after it. You would be crazy if you did. From a human point of view, suffering is always a bad thing! We never enjoy pain, and we always try to get out of it if we can!
But the Bible tells us that Jesus Christ did choose to suffer. He had a choice, and He chose suffering. Why? Because our sin separated us from God, and solving that problem would require Jesus to be sacrificed for the sins of the world. He chose to undergo suffering to bridge the gap between us and God.
Jesus Christ endured the suffering because He really wanted what was waiting on the other side of suffering. The Bible says in Hebrews 12:2 that Christ chose suffering “for the joy that was set before him.” In other words, it meant more to Jesus to save us from our sins than to be safe and comfortable. His sacrificial suffering made it possible for us to become children of God and live with Him forever in Heaven. What a courageous, selfless, and loving Savior we have!
Jesus Christ endured suffering to provide sinners a way of salvation.
My response:
» Do I ever spend time thinking about what Christ went through so that I could be saved from my sins?
» When I go through suffering, can I find comfort and strength through Christ?
» How can I show others that I trust this Savior who suffered for me?