Even after two thousand years of studying the life, ministry and teachings of Jesus Christ, his followers still have difficulty with what he said about suffering. His message is very straightforward: “Get used to suffering. It’s the way things are in a broken world.” An early Christian by the name of Augustine understood well what Jesus meant. He said, “God had one son on earth without sin, but never one without suffering.”
Just talking about suffering today seems sadistic. We
have so many ways of avoiding pain and discomfort, we wonder why anyone would choose
to willingly suffer. But that is exactly why Jesus Christ came to this earth. It
is the greatest of ironies: suffering enters human life because of man’s rejection
of God. God enters human life to offer us a chance to return to him and
accomplishes it through the sacrifice of his Son on the cross.
The suffering of Jesus Christ means that any serious follower of Christ can expect to experience the same as they journey through life. The Apostle Peter, in a letter he wrote two thousand years ago describes this reality in detail and gives us instruction on how to overcome.
Regardless of what you believe, you will suffer at some point in your life. It is not a matter of “if”; it is only a matter of time. Jesus Christ can take that suffering and turn it into something that is eternally beneficial. Join us for one of our weekend services as we continue to study Peter’s first letter to Christians in modern day Turkey. It is far better to be prepared to suffer than to be held hostage in fear of it.
Weekend worship service times: Saturday: 6:00 pm – Sunday:
10:00 am
