Finding Meaning in Suffering
1 Peter 4:12–19
Works of art by Marc Chagall, Annibale Carracci, and Stefan Lochner
Commentaries by Ian Boxall
1 Peter 4:12–19
Bible passage (Revised Standard Version)
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal which comes upon you to prove you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13But rejoice in so far as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14If you are reproached for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. 15But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or a wrongdoer, or a mischief-maker; 16yet if one suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but under that name let him glorify God. 17For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18And
“If the righteous man is scarcely saved,
where will the impious and sinner appear?”
19Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will do right and entrust their souls to a faithful Creator.