The (re)Born Identity of Suffering: Remembering Who You’ve Become Through Baptism (1 Pet. 3:17-4;2)
I heard recently of a TV movie called “The Winning Season.” It tells the story of a boy whose family is going bankrupt.[1] The boy, eleven-year-old Joe, has been working for an elderly lady to earn money for his family. He’s been cleaning out Mrs. Young’s basement and throwing away old junk. In the process, Joe uncovers an old baseball card. He takes it to a card shop where he learns that the card is worth $4000. Joe hurries home and tells his parents. Their financial problems could be solved by that card. No more riding around in the broken down truck. No more working for his mother. But his Mom asks, “You got this from Mrs. Young’s garage?” “Yes,” Joe explains. His mother asks, “Joe, does Mrs. Young know? You told her, didn’t you?” “I tried, Mom, but she was asleep.” “We better call her.” “What for?” Joe asks. “You found that in her garage. It belongs to her, Joe.” Joe protests and says he found it as part of the work he was doing for Mrs. Young. It’s his. It’s theirs. It fixes their problems. But Mom stands firm. “Joe, Mrs. Young has barely two cents to her name. She needs the money, Joe.” Joe begins to realize what the right thing to do is. The right thing is to give the card back. But he and his family are going to lose a great deal by doing the right thing. Sometimes to do a good thing we have to suffer bad things.