“Dear friends, do not be surprised at
the painful trial you are suffering, but rejoice that you participate in the
sufferings of Christ.”
1 Peter 4:12, 13
On a warm summer day, July 19, A.D.
64, a fire broke out in the poor quarters of Rome near the coliseum. The Temple
of Luna was razed along with the Shrine of Vesta, hundreds, then thousands of
people were homeless. When people tried to extinguish the blaze, they were
forcibly restrained by the imperial soldiers, leading them to believe that Nero
was responsible for the fire.
Rome was ablaze for three days. In
the evening as the sky glowed with the burning inferno, Nero played his fiddle
with glee on the evening as the sky glowed with the burning inferno. A public
outcry arose and Nero needed a scapegoat. The Christians of Rome offered the
perfect solution. First, the growing Christian population wasn’t like.
Furthermore, dislike for Christians was fueled by rumors that they were
cannibals who ate flesh and drank blood in their religious rites.
The madness of prejudice quickly
turned into the fire of persecution. People who had lived relatively peaceful
lives suddenly were victims of malicious cruelty.
Within months the Apostle Peter, who
had known persecution himself, picked up his pen and wrote to help these who
suddenly were confronted with pain and suffering.
What believers were going through
then is still being repeated today. Why would you be the brunt of unkind words
or prejudice because of what you believe in? there are times when your basic
goodness pricks the conscience of an unbeliever? Jesus said, “If the world
hates you, keep in mind that it hated Me first” (John 15:18). Rejoice, says
Peter, no matter how strange the logic, for you share in the suffering of
Christ.
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