The God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, establish, strengthen, and support you after you have suffered a little while. To him be dominion forever. Amen. (1 Peter 5:10-11)
The book of 1 Peter has much to say about suffering. The early Christian church was being persecuted by the Romans. Peter alerted the believers that they would suffer, even as Jesus suffered, and gave them instructions on how to endure the persecutions. Peter encouraged the believers to follow Jesus’ lead – “who for the joy that lay before him, endured the cross, despising its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:2). In his closing remarks, Peter says that Jesus, himself, will restore, strengthen, and support them in their suffering. However, their goal was not to endure suffering – the goal was to obtain eternal glory in Christ.
Digressing for a moment, Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, recognized incredible suffering in the world, and he set out to find a way to alleviate suffering. The Eightfold Path of Buddhism is the path to liberation from suffering through meditation (essentially denial of suffering), with the goal of possibly having less suffering in a future life. This is not our goal. Our goal is to live as Jesus’ followers, influencing our culture, bringing others along with us, even when experiencing suffering, with the goal of obtaining glory in eternity.
Think with me for a moment of Jesus’ birth on the first Christmas. Childbirth is traumatic in any situation, but for Jesus, when he was born, he was homeless, sleeping in an animal’s feeding trough. This was so far from the glory that he experienced prior to his incarnation. Shortly after his birth, King Herod wanted to kill him, so he became a refugee in Egypt. After living in Egypt for a while, he was able to return to his adopted home in Nazareth. We often compartmentalize Jesus’ suffering to his final days, his trial, humiliation, and crucifixion. However, as you celebrate Christmas this year, remember how much Jesus suffered, just in his birth, for our sakes, that we might join him in eternal glory.