The fourth area in which my life is a pattern of Jesus Christ is in the area of suffering. “Christ … suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps” (1 Peter 2:21). Just as Jesus Christ suffered for me, so am I to suffer for Him and for others. That suffering is not the kind that human beings normally undergo; it is suffering for Christ’s sake and is related to my being His disciple and sent one. It is suffering unjustly, as Peter states it (1 Peter 2:19), as a lamb suffers without giving offense to others.
Jesus Christ did not suffer because He was an evildoer, or because He wanted political power, or because He abused His body, or because He was mischievous. He suffered because the light that He brought is always in conflict with darkness. Whenever anyone seeks to do God’s will and live righteously, he will always suffer, because that is the nature of the relationship between good and evil. To the extent that I pursue the will of Christ and represent Him on this earth, I will suffer for it.
There is an exhilaration that comes to those who suffer after the pattern of Christ. Christ found joy in His cross (Hebrews 12:2); Paul rejoiced because he could be sacrificed on the altar for his Lord (Philippians 2:17); the early Christians rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer for His sake (Acts 5:41). That joy is the overflow of God’s joy in heaven at the success of His work in the world.
Have I suffered for Christ? If He is my model and pattern, it will not be long before I feel the nails and the thorns, for that is the calling of those whom God calls His beloved children (Ephesians 5:1-2).
And keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame (1 Peter 3:16).
Daily with the King 