Suffering

In Matthew 16 Jesus starts to be really frank with his disciples about what he's going to experience. That he's going to suffer many things and be killed.

Peter won't stand for this kind of talk. Jesus is a leader, a hero. No way will could God's servant go through such things, Peter thinks.

Jesus' rebuke is pretty harsh: "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns." (Side note: I often feel like Peter...opening my mouth to say something well-intentioned, then inserting my foot seconds later.)

The fact is, Jesus had the mind of God, because he was fully God. He knew that sometimes, suffering happens even to the good guys. Even to the perfect Guy. He knew that suffering wasn't even just an unfortunate occurrence that might come along as you seek to fulfill God's calling for your life—sometimes suffering was the calling. For Jesus, this was obviously the case. And for someone to say otherwise was an attempt to distract Jesus from his calling.

I hate suffering. Even Jesus hated suffering, so I don't feel too wussy about that. But I, like so many, have the temptation to think in the back of my mind that if I'm doing what God has called me to do, God will make it easy, and I will live happily ever after. Doesn't God bless those who do his will?

Yes, ultimately God blesses us with rewards in heaven. But to think we can sidestep suffering as we serve God here on earth is keeping in mind the concerns of men, rather than the concerns of God. So if part of God's calling means suffering, I need to cast aside the Peter-voice in my head telling me that surely such things shouldn't be happening to me.