Give it all you have got! (1 Peter 4:1)

 So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too, for if you are willing to suffer for Christ, you have decided to stop sinning.  (1 Peter 4:1)

As  a pastor was preaching about loving God with all your heart and loving your neighbor as well.  My mind wondered again to that verse in 1Peter 4:1 saying that I must be ready and willing to suffer like Christ did.  The puzzle was now complete in its entirety as loving God with all of my heart is equal to loving my neighbor as myself.  It is all connected to that willingness to suffer and give it all you have got.  It is first of all, a willingness to suffer rather than, suffering itself, and it's  a willingness to suffer for a holy result and boldness in my own life.  It is a willingness to suffer in exchange for some fruit of holy favor and flavor.

It is not even if you would ever suffer, a suffering that disappoint you, but gives you hope in greater proportion to your own suffering.  Real hope does not disappoint us.  There is a difference between the suffering that comes from Satan as a direct attack and the sweet suffering that comes from God in the form of persecution and growth.

Loving God requires a sacrifice certainly and sometimes loving your neighbor may require a sacrifice, but that kind of suffering is nothing compared to the physical suffering that Christ or even ourselves may have to endure.  We should consider any willingness to suffer as a decision to stop sinning.  No wonder some of us are still trapped in our own sins (verse 2).  Whether the suffering comes from Satan or God it will always accomplish something in our favor.  God is greater than our suffering!  For now anyway, he only requires us to give it our all to Him by loving him and loving others as he sees fit and whatever that sacrifice of love might look like as we follow the leading of His Spirit in a relationship that is after all very personal.