Suffering Unjustly

 'For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully.'

Jesus suffered wrongfully. Would we want it any other way?

Imagine if He had not suffered wrongfully. Imagine if He had hated those who hated Him. What then? If Jesus had hated those who hated Him then He couldn't have been love personified. He hates sin. His heartbreaks for the unrepentant sinner because He loves them. He loves us not the sin in us. Sin is something we commit, it is not who we are. Jesus could, and can look beyond the sin and see us without sin. Jesus could, and can see our hearts uncorrupted. We have a natural tendency when drawn away by our desires to let sin be conceived in us. We think according to our desires. What we want, what we like. Murder is wanting someone dead, stealing is wanting something that isn't ours. Adultery is wanting another's husband or wife. Dishonoring one's parents is not wanting to obey them. Coveting is wanting something that isn't yours, it's not even wanting others to have those things. Telling falsehoods is desiring to twist the truth. Not loving God is not wanting your Creator or redeemer. Taking God's name in vain is wanting to disparage God, to make Him of no real affect, of no consequence in things eternal. To bow down to idols is your desire to choose falsehood over truth, to put something else in the place of God in your life. And when you choose not to worship God on the Sabbath, the day He set aside for you to do so- actually blessing and sanctifying that day of the week, you want to disobey God's command so you can worship yourself- believing you and your way of worship, your life is superior to God's.  

Do you see it? Your not loving God or loving others is your choosing yourself- and you've set yourself up to be your own god.  

Jesus hates sin, Jesus despises when we turn away from the source of all true love. It breaks His heart when we turn away from Him, is it any wonder He hates sin! He hates that sin exists at all and has made provision for the day when sin will reign no longer.

Jesus suffered wrongfully, but we've got it in our heads that we are not to do likewise.

'For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.'

Read that a few times.

If you're suffering because of your own faults, then you can expect nothing else and may have a tendency to be patient with yourself, understanding that you just might deserve what comes to you through your own shortcomings. But if you are doing good, if you aren't doing anything wrong at all, if you've no reason to suffer, and no fault of your own caused the suffering yet you suffer… the tendency is to rail against the injustice of having to suffer. Christ calls us to take such suffering with patience.

Christ suffered the same- unjustly and with patience.

'For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps. Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously.  Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.'