Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. 1 Peter 4:1 (NIV)
There is a price for doing what is right. Jesus is the only one who in every way did what is right, and look at the price He paid for it. “Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God” (3:18). He paid the ultimate price to bring highly resistant people to God.
As Christ’s followers, it is going to work in the same way with us. There will be times when we suffer, and that suffering will be part of the way highly resistant people come to glorify God. But what does this suffering look like?
“If you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed… It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil” (3:14, 17). The suffering Peter is talking about is not breaking a leg or some kind of illness; it is specifically the price that you pay for doing what is right.
Jesus was ready to pay the price of living in obedience to the Father, and you must be ready to pay the price of obedience, too, arming yourself with the same attitude.
The defining mark of an authentic Christian is the moment when it costs you something to do what is right. That moment is the first time you make a decision because you are a follower of Jesus—a decision that you would never have made if it were not for Him.
When you pay a price for your obedience—you lose a friend, you lose some money—because you did what was right, it will change the way you live the rest of your life, and your suffering will play a part in the advance of God’s kingdom among highly resistant people.
What has following Jesus cost you?
