The Kingdom of Suffering and Forgiveness (1 Peter 3:13-22 (LD 51)

The call for us to suffer and forgive those who offend us is a rather difficult challenge.  We as humans want to make sure that we get our pound of flesh.  We think that those who offend us must pay the price or we might want be scared that they will make a habit of offending us.  So, why do we ask for forgiveness and ask that we would forgive others?  What could possibly motivate us to want to fulfill this radical request?