You can still live like Christ even on a bad day!

You don’t have to make it worse. You don’t have to fall apart. You are still in the hands of God even in a bad day. In fact your bad day can reveal more of Christ in you than any other day.

So how?

“Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. ² As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. ³ For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. ⁴ They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you. ⁵ But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. ⁶ For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.” (1 Peter 4 v 1-6)

You have dealt with sin. How? Through the suffering you have endured.

Just as Jesus who without sin suffered for our sin fully dealing with its power we have the same attitude and approach to life. This suffering we go through teaches us to make sure the important comes to the surface of our lives and that is we become like Jesus. Peter has compared our suffering with the obedience of Noah who had to build an ark and face slander. When we put our faith in Jesus in baptism (akin to Noah’s flood) we gave ourselves to the same road that Jesus went on through suffering into glory.

You don’t live like those in Noah’s day. How? Through the reaction to your suffering.

We do not react like the world, think selfishly, living for ourselves, but we focus on His will and what He wants for our lives through this suffering, we live for Him. Though Noah isn’t mentioned these verses are continuing from what Peter has already spoken and he then brings a list of vices that Noah’s generation was involved in. As with Noah, as in Peter’s day, here today you may be that one who is receiving further abuse simply because you are not responding like the way of the world does in dealing with the difficulties of life.

You live in such a way that even the ‘dead’ can live. How? There is an accounting to come. God will judge the living and the dead. But because you have chosen to live through the suffering, to proclaim Christ despite the attacks on your life then it is possible that those who were ‘dead’ will also come to life. You can still see the impact of the gospel because of the way you live your life.