The passage I share below deals with character and faith in the face of suffering. I want my attitude, my words and my actions to always point to Christ and bring glory to God no matter what the circumstances. We do not know what each day brings, but we do know the One who does and that is who we put our faith in. The world is broken and unfair, but the Lord is sovereign and rules over all of it and uses all of it to grow his people; his church. How do we respond when things don’t go our way? Or when we feel we deserve something different?

1 Peter 3:8-18

Suffering for Doing Good

8Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. 9Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

10For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech.
11They must turn from evil and do good;they must seek peace and pursue it.
12For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

13Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats ; do not be frightened.” 15But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 17For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 18For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.

My hope is that my wife and I have parented in such a way that our children experience & rejoice in the good news of Jesus Christ and that their faith and love for Christ shows in everything they do. We pray that they trust in the Lord no matter the circumstances. This past week my 2 daughters were very busy performing in Peter Pan (put on by Christian Youth Theatre here in Kansas City). My oldest daughter Paige, 15, has been in several shows over the past 8 years and growing in her theater experience and skills; and especially these past 2 years. She was really looking forward to Peter Pan and prepared hard to earn a leading role. Several friends commented how well she did in her audition and her hopes were high. All of her friends got major roles, yet my daughter didn’t and she was not happy. In some way this was a moment of suffering for my daughter and it showed in her attitude the next few weeks. I’ll be honest, I couldn’t stand that attitude and nor could my wife. But the Lord was working on Paige as she resolved to stay committed to the show. Her attitude changed and she was determined to be the best warrior & dancer she could be. She worked hard.

Which brings us to this week: show week. On opening night one of the leads got sick and could not do the next show. Paige’s attitude and hard work during the past 3 months was noticed. The creative directors running the show called for Paige and asked her to fill in because they felt she was reliable and best able to handle this on such short notice. Suffice it to say, she was thrilled and accepted the challenge. The directors said she could even use a copy of the script while on stage, but Paige poured over it late that night and the next day and didn’t even need the script sheet. And she nailed the performance! On top of that she won a post show award for being the most reliable and for standing in the gap when called upon. We were so proud of this character building moment for her and pray that it will be a life stake moment: something she can build upon; look back upon and grow for the future and that it would point those around her to Christ. May we show this faith and character in everything we do: 1 Peter 3:15-16: But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander