“Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf” (1 Peter 4:16).

There are two things in this passage on suffering that reveal facts about a Christian.  First, he is not to be ashamed in suffering for righteousness.”  Second, he is to glorify God in the suffering.  Peter along with John did exactly that, as it is written, “And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name” (Acts 5:41).  A Christian is as unique a person in the world as light is to darkness (cf. Matt. 5:14-16; Phil. 2:15).  Consider three of many traits about a Christian that must be manifested.

1. Truth Loving. Jesus stated of those who would come to the light, “But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God” (John 3:21).  It is by the “word of truth” (James 1:18) that anyone becomes a Christian (cf. James 2:17).  One purifies his soul “in obeying the truth” (1 Peter 1:22).  Salvation is directly connected to the truth as those who will perish are characterized by the words, “they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved” (2 Thess. 2:10).  The church is clearly described as “the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15).  Truth is a trademark of God’s people and must never be compromised.
2. Tenderhearted. A second quality of a Christian is a tenderhearted disposition.  While the Christian does not love sin, he does love people and sympathizes with the struggles of man with sin.  One is to speak the truth “in love” (Eph. 4:15) flowing from a heart that heeds the words “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Eph. 4:32).  Peter wrote, “Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous” (1 Peter 2:8).  Those who are genuine followers of Jesus Christ are to have the same mind as the Lord.  As was Christ, being the great example, so are Christians to be.
3. “Thick-skinned.” Peter also wrote, “Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing” (1 Peter 3:9).  Nothing about the Christian life is promised to be an easy path (cf. Matt. 7:14; 2 Tim. 3:12).  Christians are to develop a temperament that does not give in to the pressure to quit or retaliate.  Forbearing and forgiving are two qualities that are to be developed as the Lord was forbearing and forgiving to all.  Sometimes one just has to take it.  Here is true strength that even the world notices.  While it is indeed true that “the flesh is weak” (Matt. 26:41), the inner man is responsible to control the outer.  The longevity of relationships is tied to not letting the “little annoyances” destroy what is truly important.  The “good ground” (Matt. 13:8) is not characterized like the soil “when the sun was up, they were scorched: and because they had no root, they withered away” (Matt. 13:6).  Longsuffering and patience are continually mentioned in the New Testament as spiritual qualities of the Christian (cf. Eph. 4:2; Col. 1:11; 3:12; 1 Cor. 13:4; James 1:3-4).  Qualities that God commands Christians to have are not just possibilities but musts to apply.

Jimmy Clark