The life we've been invited to

1 Peter 2:18-25 (The Message)
The Kind of Life He Lived

18-20You who are servants, be good servants to your masters—not just to good masters, but also to bad ones. What counts is that you put up with it for God's sake when you're treated badly for no good reason. There's no particular virtue in accepting punishment that you well deserve. But if you're treated badly for good behavior and continue in spite of it to be a good servant, that is what counts with God.

21-25This is the kind of life you've been invited into, the kind of life Christ lived. He suffered everything that came his way so you would know that it could be done, and also know how to do it, step-by-step.

He never did one thing wrong,
Not once said anything amiss.

They called him every name in the book and he said nothing back. He suffered in silence, content to let God set things right. He used his servant body to carry our sins to the Cross so we could be rid of sin, free to live the right way. His wounds became your healing. You were lost sheep with no idea who you were or where you were going. Now you're named and kept for good by the Shepherd of your souls.


The more I read, and the more I listen to people like Mark Driscoll, I'm convinced that we as Christians are called to a life with suffering. Naturally this isn't something that would sit very well with a lot of people, especially some of the Bible thumpers that I know, but I don't think I can keep trying to believe this myth that the moment you accept Christ, your live will become this happily charmed fairytale where all you get are blessings and gifts and good health all the days of your life.

And the thing is, if you look at what it says in the bible, I don't think anyone who's really read it can argue for a "perfect" life. We see this all over the place, like the above verses in Peter, where he's highlighting that what's really important is not so much that we're suffering, but that when we suffer, that we have the knowledge and hope to not only endure it, but how to deal with it as well. I find it highly ironic that so many people seem to think that believing in Jesus means it's a ticket out of hardships. One would think that if we worship a God who deigned to enter into suffering for our sakes, one that was highly cruel, unjust and scandalous, that we all the more would go through suffering ourselves.

I think when people think of suffering, they shudder in fear because they concentrate on the pain and the hardship and the difficulties. But the truth is if we really profess to believe who Jesus is and what the Bible says, then we'll see that suffering is never for nothing, that God will use it to shape and mold us, and that if we're smart, and since it already says we're going to suffer anyway, then we might as well make the most of it and not let it go to waste. The saddest story then, would be of someone who went through immense suffering, and yet never learned anything from it.

I am weary, but it's not the end of the world. These days I hardly remember what it's like to be energetic all the time, but it's okay. I know when the medication is done with and I finally have a chance at what being normal and healthy is again, that it'll work out. Some days I am still in shock over having a kidney disease. Yesterday marked exactly 9 months since everything unfolded, and I still have a hard time saying it at times. But it's still really okay. I know all this will be over soon, and God is working something through it, for which I am grateful.

I have decided that this week is really meant for me to devote my time to prayer and reading and resting in God. It seems like I'm only focused when I do so, and a part of me worries that if that's all I do then I'll fall even further behind in all the work I have to get done, but the other part of me feels like in order for me to do anything well, I must do this. Proverbs 1:7 says "Start with God - the first step in learning is bowing down to God" (The Message), so that's what I'm going to do.

I am, as it seems, simply laying down the foundation for things to come.