Consider the following scriptures:
James 1:2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Hebrews 11:24 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, 25 choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.
Matthew 5:11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
I could add more to the list, but the point is probably clear enough in these. In many cases, the Bible seems to expect that not only will Christians suffer, but that we need to be suffering.
During the NT period Christians were "stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated." We know it was a time of persecution - but was that merely descriptive and written for them, or is it perspective, meaning that if one is living an authentic Christian life, we should be expecting these things? Is it accurate to suggest that a wealthy Christian living a life of ease is circumventing the prescribed ordered?
In other words, looking at the whole of Scripture* is it accurate to say that a Christian who is not or has not been experiencing trials, persecution, and other sorts of things that can be called "Suffering," is not actually experiencing the Christian life? Specifically, are there other portions of Scripture I am not properly taking into account, or doctrinal perspectives that would be highly resitant to this claim?
*A good answer to this question would reference other Scripture to either support this as a standard "across the Bible" kind of thing, or present Scripture that would seem to be in opposition. Specifically, I am looking to see if this statement is fairly consistent across Scripture, or if, perhaps, I have qutoed these out of context. I also would like to know what doctrinal perspectives would be resistant to this.