I Peter 3:8-18

&nb= sp;

God can use our suffering

to make us better disciples.

A sermon preached by

Rev. William O. (Bud) = Reeves

First United Methodist Church

Hot= Springs, Arkansas

April 6, 2008

I know I’m not supposed to like doughnuts. Doughnuts are bad—but taste so good. = In fact, one of the fastest-growing franchises in the country is Krispy Kreme doughnut shops. One of the re= asons for their success is not only the good doughnuts, but also a unique design = of their doughnut shops.

At the Krispy Kreme sh= ops, customers are able to watch the doughnut-making process through a glass wal= l, as the doughnuts move along an automated conveyor system. Have you ever seen this? First the little balls of dough ar= e shot through with a piercing blast of air to make the hole. Next the flat, pierced dough is run through the “proof box,” an up-and-down elevator ride through an atmosphere of heat and humidity that makes the dough rise. Then the risen doughnuts are dropp= ed into a vat of hot oil to cook them thoroughly. Finally the survivors of this auto= mated ordeal are passed under a cascade of hot, molten icing before they emerge a= s bona fide Krispy Kreme doughnuts.<= o:p>

That little ball of do= ugh has to go through an awful lot of trauma before it emerges as the sweet delicacy that brings delight to the customer. In a similar way, disciples someti= mes have to endure a long process of trials and suffering before our lives beco= me a sweet offering that delights our heavenly Father.[1]

I’ll bet youR= 17;ve never compared your life to a doughnut, have you? We don’t normally think of suffering in those terms, do we? We don’t see our trials as a process of preparation for something good.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> We avoid trouble whenever we can.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> We try to minimize our pain with a= ll sorts of medications and coping mechanisms. We don’t want to suffer, bec= ause we have seen what suffering does to people. Suffering can cause bitterness, anger, resentment, and even rage in a person’s spirit. Pain can shut a person down emotio= nally and spiritually. We don’= ;t want to live like that. So ho= w can we turn our trouble into a positive and helpful experience?

First of all, we need = to see suffering as an experience with spiritual possibility. I know it doesn’t often feel= very spiritual, but it is; suffering has tremendous spiritual potential. And like it or not, it is a part o= f our experience as Christians. Pet= er refers to the suffering that his audience in this letter is going through.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> They are evidently undergoing some= kind of persecution for their faith. Peter says, “Even if n= ow for a little while you have had to suffer trials,”[2] and in our text he refers to them suffering for doing what is right. In chapter 4 he says, “Do not be surprised at the fiery ordea= l that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.”[3] It’s all part of the game. There are no exemptions; there are no guarantees that you will not suffer, or even that you will suf= fer less, because you are a Christian. In fact, you may suffer more because you will feel compelled to do w= hat is right, and that isn’t always easy or popular.

But here is the spirit= ual possibility: our suffering, particularly if we suffer for doing what is rig= ht, connects us to the suffering of our Lord Jesus Christ. He didn’t escape, either: &#= 8220;For Christ also suffered for sins once= for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God.”= ;= = [4] Peter draws a direct line= from the suffering we experience to the ultimate suffering of Jesus on the cross. In chapter 2, verse 21= , he says, “For to this you have b= een called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so th= at you should follow in his steps.”= So we identify with Jesus in his suffering, and he identifies with u= s in his death. It puts our suffer= ing in perspective when we realize the magnitude of what he went through for us. <= o:p>

Bill McCartney, former football coach and founder of Promise Keepers, tells a story about a man he knew in Denver named Ivan, who still can’t get over something that happened to him f= our decades ago. Ivan was a Marin= e in Vietnam= , and he and his squad befriended some Vietnamese children near their outpost. They would come around to sell can= dy, and there was one little girl named Kim that became Ivan’s favorite.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> He would hold her in his lap, thro= w her up in the air, and tell her he loved her.

Then one day Kim came = into the camp as a suicide bomber, just like what we’ve been seeing in the= Middle East for several years. She had been wired by the Vietcong= with explosives and would be detonated by them when she got close to the Americans. But before she got= too close, Kim unbuttoned her shirt so Ivan and the other soldiers could see the bomb. It was her way of telli= ng them that she would kill them if they allowed her to come any closer. Ivan was one of the men who had to= shoot her to detonate the explosives and save many lives.[5]

Kim gave her life to s= ave her friends, but forty years later, Ivan is still suffering over what happe= ned that day. It was horribleR= 12;as horrible as the Son of God dying on the cross to save our lives. But here’s the point: God doesn’t want us to be imprisoned by the pain of our past. God doesn’t want us to get st= uck in our suffering any more than he wanted Jesus to stay dead in the tomb! Jesus suffered and died for us, bu= t he rose again. We can rise above= our suffering today by the power of the resurrection!

That is the gift of God. In fact, we can see suff= ering itself as a gift of God, because it’s through our suffering that we c= an see God at work in powerful ways. God doesn’t send suffering on us, but as Paul says, “in all things—suffering included—God works for good w= ith those who love him and are called according to his purpose.”= = [6]

God works for good in = our suffering by strengthening our fai= th. Trials and trouble and tribulation= can be faith-building experiences for us. Listen to Peter: “Even= if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed.”= = [7] When we are experiencing the h= ard times and heartaches of life, that is the time to turn to our faith. I have never understood why, when = some people get in distress, they drop out of church.&= nbsp; Tough times are precisely when we need to take every opportunity to = cry out to God. That might be all= that gets us by.

I remember a news stor= y from several years ago about a woman named Linda who was involved in a serious c= ar accident. When the paramedics arrived, Linda was already in shock due to the loss of blood. But she was pinned in the wreckage= , and it took a while to get her out of the vehicle before they could even treat = her injuries. Throughout this ord= eal, Linda remained calm and never lost consciousness. Finally she was loaded on an ambul= ance and rushed to a hospital.

A reporter got to the = scene in time to interview one of the paramedics, and the EMT told the newsman th= at the only thing that saved Linda’s life was the singing. “What do you mean, the singing?” the reporter asked.

The paramedic replied, “The whole time we were working on her, she kept singing, ‘What= a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and grief to bear…what a friend= we have in Jesus.’”

When we suffer, we can= call out to God, and he will be with us. We can choose faith, and that choice gives us strength, which strengthens our faith, which gives us more strength, which strengthens our faith, and so on it goes, until we get through the suffering.

The second way God wor= ks in our suffering is to open up a hear= t of compassion within us. We = cannot understand suffering until we have suffered. But having suffered, we can have compassion on others who are suffering.&nb= sp; We can be agents of God's love and grace to others who are hurting.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> I rely on this truth all the time = in our pastoral care ministries. Nob= ody understands like someone who has been there. So when someone is having a drinki= ng problem, I try to get him or her in touch with a recovering alcoholic. Nobody can understand how di= vorce breaks your heart like someone who has been through it. When people have cancer, I try to = hook them up with a cancer survivor. Suffering can open up the wellsprings of compassion in our hearts.

Walter Payton, the lat= e, great running back of the Chicago Bears, was known by the nickname “Sweetness” for a reason. In 1984, his friend Bob Thomas, who had been the placekicker for the Bears for ten years, was cut from the team. Bob waited until he knew the locke= r room would be clear of players before he went in to clear out his things. He just didn’t have the emot= ional strength to face the guys he had grown to love so much. But when he went into the silent l= ocker room, he found Walter Payton, the all-pro running back, one of the most celebrated players in the NFL, waiting by his locker. He had heard the news. Walter stood up, and Bob Thomas bu= ried his face in the chest of his friend and brother in faith.=

Fifteen years later, w= hen Walter Payton died, that moment still meant the world to Bob Thomas: “= ;To share your grief with a Hall of Fame running back with that kind of compass= ion, empathy, and ability is really my fondest memory of the guy we called ‘Sweetness.’”[8]

Sweet indeed is the lo= ve of Christ that flows out of the heart of someone who has known suffering, yet = has allowed that pain to become a fountain of grace to ease the pain of others. That’s the gift= of compassion.

A final way God works through suffering is to give us ho= pe. When times are tough, we can walk = with Christ, knowing that we are not defined by our present circumstances. We know God is in control, and he = is going to work things out for our good.&nbs= p; We never lose hope in the future.&n= bsp; We know that ultimately we have a home in heaven with God. So we don’t even have to stay alive to win the victory. Our victory is spiritual; it is eternal; and it is assured.
I read these verses of= ten at funerals because they express our hope in the midst of suffering: “This slight momentary afflictio= n is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we = look not at what can be seen, but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen i= s temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal. For we know that if this earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we ha= ve a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.R= 21;= = [9] When we are suffering, this ho= pe can carry us through.

God works in our suffe= ring to give us the gifts of hope and compassion and strength. His gifts are sufficient to empowe= r you to endure your suffering and to overcome your difficulty and in the process= to become a better disciple. The resources of faith are enough to bring you victory.

Let me close with a st= ory that came over the internet from a man named Robert. He was at the airport, and he over= heard an elderly father and his daughter saying good-bye before she boarded the plane. He said to her, “= ;I love you, and I wish you enough.”

She replied, “Da= ddy, our life together has been more than enough. Your love was all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too.” They kissed, and she walked = into the boarding tunnel.

The old man came to the window and stood beside Robert, looking like he was about to cry. Robert didn’t want to intrud= e, but the old man spoke first, “Did you ever say good-bye to someone, knowi= ng that it was going to be forever?”&nb= sp;

Robert asked, “If you’ll forgive me asking, why was this a forever good-bye?”

The old man said, R= 20;I am old, and she lives too far away. I have some challenges ahead, and the reality is, her next trip back will be for my funeral.”

Robert said, “Wh= en you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, ‘I wish you enough.’ Do you mind if I ask, what does th= at mean?”

The old man smiled and= said, “That’s a wish that has been handed down for generations. My parents used to say it to everyone. When we said, ̵= 6;I wish you enough,’ we were wanting the other person to have a life fil= led with enough good things to sustain them.” He paused and then spoke as if from memory:

“I wish you enou= gh sun to keep your attitude bright.

I wish you enough rain= to appreciate the sun more.

I wish you enough happ= iness to keep your spirit alive.

I wish you enough pain= so the smallest joys appear bigger.

I wish you enough gain= to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss= to appreciate all you possess.

I wish you enough ‘Hello’s’ to get you through the final ‘Good-bye.’”

Then, without another = word, the old man turned and slowly walked away.[10]

In a moment, we will s= hare a bite of bread and a few drops of grape juice. It won’t be much, but it wil= l be enough. It will be enough to = link us to the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. It will be enough to allow us to p= articipate in the new life of our risen Lord. This communion is a sign, that no matter what our suffering in life,= God will give us his gifts—strength, compassion, hope—and it will be enough. My brothers and siste= rs, I wish you enough! Amen!