1 Peter 2:24
24 “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” (NIV)
He bore our sins.
Peter is calling upon the people of God not to resist suffering. His logic is that our suffering opens our mind to His suffering, knowing He suffered for us. Our victory over sin is dependent upon our intimacy with His suffering.
To truly love others, we must embrace suffering. When Christ willingly took upon Him the great suffering equal to cover the world’s sin, He embraced it. The Bible says for the joy set before Him, He endured the cross. The pain was more than excruciating. The humiliation was heavy upon Him. Yet, His heart found joy in the act knowing His blood gave us victory.
When we reject suffering, we become self-protective. Rather than enduring with patience, we protect ourselves by walking out or attacking the one who has hurt us. To keep putting the one who has hurt us high in our hearts, we must choose to allow the suffering to continue even as we patiently try to help them through the issues causing them to hurt us.
Jesus knows the power of God is love. The Apostle Paul understood this and prayed that we would receive power from the Holy Spirit, enabling us to grasp the enormity of God’s love for us. When we are confident of God’s love for us, we trust Him. The more we trust Him, the more we obey. The more we follow, the more we see His teachings are correct. We become convinced that He is the way, the truth, and the life. Nothing will drag us away from Him. This movement of the spirit sits on the bedrock of God’s love.
When others hurt us, Peter teaches us to endure it. Rather than taking action to relieve our pain which would force us to leave or retaliate, we stay to help them through what is causing their hurtful behavior. As Jesus remained on the cross, we also take up our cross to follow Him. The suffering we experience at the hands of others gives us a unique opportunity to grasp in a minuscule way the love required for Jesus to allow Himself to hang there on the cross for us. And our sense of His love is heightened within us.
Lord, when I suffer at the hands of others, remind me of how You stayed on the cross for me. Let me endure the suffering, continue loving, and discover Your endless love. Amen.
