By Prem Lee
1 Peter 3:13-18
During this Lenten season we are meditating on suffering. There are two aspects I find to suffering – actual pain and suffering injustice. The former is invariably from the loss of something I desire. But as Christians who take the Bible seriously, we have renounced the world and its attractions 1 John 2:15-17, we do not suffer like others. Yet, like Paul we can suffer for the frustration of our spiritual desires – our ministry, our own spiritual growth, the spiritual journey of those near and dear to us. This pain will always be a part of our life and will draw us closer to God as we pray for these situations and learn to trust Him in the darkest hours of these tribulations.
However, injustice is another matter. I may not be attached to worldly things, and so do not feel the pain of worldly loss, but still the pain of injustice does not seem to go away. Why is that? There seems to be built into our psyche that we have some value and so deserve justice. We find it difficult to identify with Jesus, in the injustice He faced (1 Pet 3:18). It is only when we recognize that my value is from Jesus and that I have no intrinsic value of my own, that I can learn to accept injustice. God created me for a purpose (Ps 139:13-16) and His purposes are working out in my life, and if it includes injustice, let me glory in it instead of being offended.
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