Suffering (and Worship) 1Jn. 3:13. Do not wonder, brethren, that the world hates you. Jesus himself said, ‘In the world you have tribulation’, Jn. 16:33. Why should we have trouble, or tribulation, in this world? Why on earth should the world hate us? Because…. Jn.3:19-21. Men love darkness rather than light. We are the light of the world, Mt. 5:14, or are we? Jesus said that he was the light of the world, Jn. 8:12, and look what they did to him; They crucified him! If we follow him then we, too, will be part of the source of that light and we can be sure that we will attract the same sort of trouble. Peter has the same advice, don’t be surprised. 1Pet. 4:12-16. We might be inclined to think that if we live a life of faith then surely we will avoid the suffering? No! Heb. 11:35b-38. Well, if we model ourselves on Jesus, ok, we can expect suffering: After all he was God; He was unique. Maybe if we just model ourselves on Paul, for example, then we might escape? No. We can’t avoid the suffering! 2Cor.11: 25-29. Jesus himself said ‘if they persecute me then they will persecute you’, Jn. 15: 20b. Why would anyone choose this life of suffering? Why can’t we just have worship, singing fellowship, peace and quiet? It all depends on who we think Jesus is. John makes it clear who we should think Jesus is. In fact that is what makes us a believer: 1Jn. 4:2, 4:15 and 5:5. Jesus in the flesh was God! Today people see God for what he does. They see him as a friend, a solver of problems, a provider of jobs, someone who can be taken or left, someone who is there on our terms when we want him. How wrong can one be? We forget who he is! We do not worship God or love him for what he does for us; We worship him for who he is. Mt. 2:11, What had Jesus done for these men? Nothing! They simply recognised who he was. Jn. 9:7, 35-38. When he knew who Jesus was the man who had been blind worshipped him. Why didn’t he come rushing back straight away when he got his sight back and worship Jesus for what he had done? Job 1:6-12. The ultimate example! Job loved and served God not because of what God had given him but because of who He was. [The next 40 chapters prove this] Yes, God has done so much for us; but it is because of who he is that he has done it! And that is why we worship him! So, the world is a difficult place! How are we to overcome? John has the answer. Who do we think Jesus is? 1Jn. 5:50. Could it be that it depends on who we think Jesus is that determines whether we sink or swim? Yes, it does! And there are many examples in scripture that we can follow. Daniel continued to pray. His three friends stood their ground in faith when threatened with the ‘fiery furnace’. Earlier, at the very beginning, they had all taken a stand about the food and drink. David came to Goliath ‘in the name of the Lord’, 1Sam.17: 45. The Lord stood by them all. We too have the same ally. 1Jn. 4:4, ‘he that is in you is greater than he that is in the world’!