Text: 1 Peter 3:13-22
“But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you…” —1 Peter 3:15
Jarrod wasn’t ordinary. Not so much because he was told early on not to expect longevity and would ultimately have seven heart surgeries in his forty-seven years on this earth, but because of the joy and humor that emanated from his life despite his “thorn in the flesh.” When he passed away in 2018, I lost a very dear friend.
Anytime Jarrod came to our youth camps he would have the kids in stitches from the moment he arrived until he left. After the youngsters would learn of his heart condition, surprisingly, they couldn’t help but ask how someone with that severe of an ailment could still find so much joy and laughter in life. The answer would always point back to Jesus and the sufficiency of his grace. Jarrod lived his life in such a way that demanded a gospel explanation.
When the Apostle Peter exhorted early Christians about responding to suffering in a godly way, he was essentially telling them that the way they endured hardship was, in principle, an apologetic of the faith:
“But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.” —1 Peter 3:15
Believers should always be ready to provide a rationale for their faith, but they should do so winsomely and respectfully. This charge was given in the very context of suffering for doing good. According to Jesus, hardships and sufferings are to be expected in the Christian life (John 16:33), but a believer’s response to suffering should point others to the gospel’s grip on our hearts and its power over even death itself.
Peter used Jesus as the ultimate example of who to pattern our lives after—”For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,” (v. 18). The Savior who suffered in his death, was raised from the dead, and triumphed over all demonic powers (1 Peter 3:18–22).
Not all of us can be as witty and gifted with the kind of humor that was in Jarrod’s DNA, but all of us can live our lives in such a way that demands a gospel explanation. In our own suffering, we can abide in the same Spirit that produces the Christ-honoring fruits of love, joy, patience, kindness, and peace in our lives—the kind of fruits the world looks at and wonders: “How is that possible when they are going through that?” We know the answer is in the “reason for the hope that is found in us,” but oftentimes the question doesn’t get asked until others have actually watched us go through some kind of hardship.
The way you face your trials this week is an apologetic to the Christian faith. Think about that as you seek to abide in Him.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, suffering is never easy. Yet there is good news in Christ, my suffering Savior who triumphed over all things in this world and has promised to overcome everything I will ever face in my life. The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the grave lives in me today, bearing fruit that I cannot manufacture on my own. I trust you to continue to bear in me the kind of witness that demands a gospel explanation, as a result of your work of grace in my heart. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Questions for personal reflection or group discussion:
- When has the way someone endured hardship had an impact on your faith?
- If someone were to ask you what is the reason for the hope that is in you, what would be your response?
- Peter exhorts us to share “the reason for the hope that is in you” with gentleness and respect. Why are these virtues necessary for sharing the gospel with others?
- How has Jesus been an example for his followers in the way of suffering? What is a pattern he has given us to follow?
- How can you be prepared to “suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will” for your life?
Text: 1 Peter 3:13-22
“But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you…” —1 Peter 3:15
Jarrod wasn’t ordinary. Not so much because he was told early on not to expect longevity and would ultimately have seven heart surgeries in his forty-seven years on this earth, but because of the joy and humor that emanated from his life despite his “thorn in the flesh.” When he passed away in 2018, I lost a very dear friend.
Anytime Jarrod came to our youth camps he would have the kids in stitches from the moment he arrived until he left. After the youngsters would learn of his heart condition, surprisingly, they couldn’t help but ask how someone with that severe of an ailment could still find so much joy and laughter in life. The answer would always point back to Jesus and the sufficiency of his grace. Jarrod lived his life in such a way that demanded a gospel explanation.
When the Apostle Peter exhorted early Christians about responding to suffering in a godly way, he was essentially telling them that the way they endured hardship was, in principle, an apologetic of the faith:
Believers should always be ready to provide a rationale for their faith, but they should do so winsomely and respectfully. This charge was given in the very context of suffering for doing good. According to Jesus, hardships and sufferings are to be expected in the Christian life (John 16:33), but a believer’s response to suffering should point others to the gospel’s grip on our hearts and its power over even death itself.
Peter used Jesus as the ultimate example of who to pattern our lives after—”For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,” (v. 18). The Savior who suffered in his death, was raised from the dead, and triumphed over all demonic powers (1 Peter 3:18–22).
Not all of us can be as witty and gifted with the kind of humor that was in Jarrod’s DNA, but all of us can live our lives in such a way that demands a gospel explanation. In our own suffering, we can abide in the same Spirit that produces the Christ-honoring fruits of love, joy, patience, kindness, and peace in our lives—the kind of fruits the world looks at and wonders: “How is that possible when they are going through that?” We know the answer is in the “reason for the hope that is found in us,” but oftentimes the question doesn’t get asked until others have actually watched us go through some kind of hardship.
The way you face your trials this week is an apologetic to the Christian faith. Think about that as you seek to abide in Him.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, suffering is never easy. Yet there is good news in Christ, my suffering Savior who triumphed over all things in this world and has promised to overcome everything I will ever face in my life. The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the grave lives in me today, bearing fruit that I cannot manufacture on my own. I trust you to continue to bear in me the kind of witness that demands a gospel explanation, as a result of your work of grace in my heart. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Questions for personal reflection or group discussion: