Suffering.

Driving to STL last night I had the opportunity to listen to some podcasts. After listening to the Passion Podcast I stumbled across a Francis Chan one titled "Is Suffering Optional?" I had never thought about this before. Intrigued, I turned it on.
I was blown away by the amount of times in the New Testament that God calls us, as His children, to suffer. From Matthew to Revelation, God paints a not so pretty picture....we are to die as Christ died. We are to be hated as He was hated. We are to make a ruckus as Christ did.
I couldn't help but laughing when he asked: What made John 3:16 so popular?
Who decided that our lives as Christians would be picture perfect.
I agree with Francis when he said that we often draw people into the faith with words like hope, grace, peace, love, etc. But we fail to mention that, through EVERY ONE OF THOSE IS TRUE, the most often forgotten is SUFFERING. If we join Christ is His cause, we will be persecuted, but one day we will wear an eternal crown!

Revelation 2:10
Do NOT be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.