I am sure every one of us, at one time or another, has felt we were treated unjustly. Maybe it was through a situation where you were being bullied for no reason. Or, it may have been at a time when you were accused of doing something you were not guilty of. Then again, you may have suffered ill treatment simply because you were in the wrong place at the wrong moment in time. When subjected to unjust actions there is generally a feeling of sorrow, sadness, or even anger within us.
As Christians, we are very much in the position of being attacked or treated unjustly because of the faith we hold in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. In today’s day and age, people all over the world are suffering and dying for the sake of holding on to their faith in Jesus. This can be a very disheartening thing for you and me to have to think about, yet it is a reality which is happening no less. It just does not seem right that such hateful events should be allowed to take place in this world, when they are solely based on a person’s belief in Christ.
Do not lose heart dear Christian friends. Instead, listen to these words of encouragement from 1 Peter 2:19-21 “For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrow while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you and example, so that you might follow in His footsteps.”
Our Lord most certainly suffered unjustly, yet by His suffering and wounds we have been healed and given the gift of the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. His tragedy was the catalyst that brought about His triumph. His example gives us the groundwork for being His witnesses in the suffering and unjust treatment we are called to bear. Paul tells us as members of Christ’ Body, “More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Romans 5:3-5 Let us look at every opportunity to suffer, even if unjustly, as a chance to give a faithful witness for the One who suffered the greatest injustice: bearing the sins of the world as a sinless sacrifice! Pastor McCarty