But, if you instead endure when doing good and suffering, this is a grace before God. For to this you were called, because on your behalf the Anointed suffered also, leaving behind a model so that you should follow his steps: “Who committed no sin; neither was guile found in his mouth”; Who, when reviled, did not revile in return;
who, in suffering, did not issue threats; who delivered himself to him who judges justly; Who himself, in his body, bore our sins upon the tree, so that, having died to sin, we might live for justice—“by whose scarring you were healed.” For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have turned back to the shepherd and overseer of your souls. (1 Peter 2:20-25)
To follow in Christ’s footsteps – to suffer as Christ suffered – requires us Christians to commit no sin when we are suffering or persecuted. It means not reviling those who curse us, not threatening those who threaten us, not seeking revenge on those who hurt us, not persecuting those who persecuted us. To follow Christ is to take up the cross, forgiving those who sin against us, and trusting God to make all things right rather than taking matters into our own hands and attempting to execute justice on our own terms.
Fraternized 