stuck on peter

I can't seem to get out of 1 Peter which is fantastic, I love when He opens the Word up like that. Peter says a lot about suffering in the latter half of the book, discussing it in close relationship to shepherding and ministry. If anyone understood that relationship it was Peter. I can't imagine the suffering that both he and Jesus felt after Peter denied his beloved shepherd. We know that Peter wept bitterly - if that's not evidence of suffering I don't know what is.

Three times Peter denied his Shepherd, piercing his heart like the three nails pierced his flesh. And later, three times Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him. Jesus didn't forget the offense, but he forgave and restored Peter from the root of the problem, leaving no room for doubt. And what did Jesus tell Peter in response to his restoration? Feed my sheep. Feed my lambs. Be a shepherd... it's your turn.

Peter, now the shepherd writing his first epistle, says: "¹²Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. ¹³But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed."

There is no shepherding or ministry without love, there is no love without suffering. That means that there can be no real ministry without suffering. It will come; when it does we learn the truth of just how tender God's heart is for us, just how fierce His wrath is against sin, and just how powerful His grace and forgiveness really is. Peter knew - he said "⁸Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." The wounds will heal, and the scars that remain only do so to remind us of His glory.