Reading:
1 Peter 1:17-23
Devotional:
There is a right way to fold towels, did you know? Just like there is a proper order to unload the groceries on the conveyor belt at the store. (If you can't imagine either in your head, just ask your mom or your wife—they know.) We learn to raise our hand in school, to close our mouth when we chew, to shake hands firmly, to bow our head and close our eyes when we pray.
We learn the patterns of performance that are polite, good, better, right. Our families, communities and cultures pass down the rules for approved and acceptable actions, until they become second nature in us. And we are rewarded for them too: responsible behavior preserves our rights in society and earns us privileges and trust in our circles. Alongside our actions, we also learn who we are, by tradition and education, telling us what we are like and what our nature and character will be.
Eventually, the combination of who we are and what we do and why we matter begins to merge until it is hard to untangle any one piece of it. I am and I do, and of course I matter. And we’re right, of course we do. But what happens when you redefine all three?
That’s where we are with Peter again, still writing to (mostly) Gentiles: he’s reminding them (and us) that who we are, what we do, and why we matter are all being reimagined. Our actions and the way we think of ourselves, and all the meaning we attach are subject to different definitions. Further, rather than this reframing throwing us into an unsettling existential crisis, we should be assured.
Who are we now? Well we’re disciples. What do we do now? We abandon the old futile ways of living, we conduct ourselves in respect of God, loving each other fervently. And why? Because we’ve been redeemed by His precious blood.
Except these are all the wrong questions—they are not new Kingdom questions. We just took our old questions and answered them differently, but we didn’t actually change frameworks at all.
Peter is telling us that yes it has all changed, but we’re not focusing the conversation on who we are, what we do, why we matter. He is asking us instead to understand who Christ is, what Christ does, why He matters. Because the gift and hope of the new Kingdom isn’t something we’re going to do or be ourselves into. We’re not going to find ourselves with enough willpower to suddenly change generations-old ways and habits and reinvent ourselves with any lasting ability. It’s outside of us.
So let’s look again. Who is He? He’s the plan all along, foreknown, shown to us now but intended from the very start. He is the living and enduring Word of God. And what does He do? He rescues us with His blood, raises from the dead and is glorified, then extends resurrection to us. And why does all of this matter? Because it is through Him that we are believers, through the living and enduring Word of God that we have been born again. His doing, His being, on our behalf. And with that mindset, now we can understand ourselves.
Now when we address Him as Father, it’s because Christ has made that relationship possible. Now when we are judged impartially (and seen to be born from above), it is through Christ. Now when we love one another fervently, when we interact, when we move through society, it is because Christ has given us belief, has placed our faith and hope in God. What He established outside of us, He then places into us.
When we move the focus of our questions to knowing Christ, who in turn points to the Father, we ground ourselves in Him. Through Christ, we believe in God, which gives us context and assurance of who He says we are, what He says we can do, why He says we matter. We don’t assume the pressure to change our nature—first or second—because Christ took on the effort and is causing it to happen. Our traditions get to be reinterpreted. Our habits get to be recharacterized. We don’t reinvent ourselves; Christ raises us with Him and places us as sons and daughters. Our faith becomes equally rich in personal meaning and shared history as we become one with Him.
Peter is helping us to understand that we have not inherited a long punch list of corrections to fix our lives to live like Christ, but we’ve received the gift of life planned and delivered to us, revealed to us, being worked out in us through Christ.
Blessed assurance, we are of Jesus—in whom we live, and move, and have our being… “For we also are His children.”
A Prayer for Each Moment
God we call as Father,
Who, through Christ our resurrection, resets our lineage and places us into His family, cause us to be obedient to You and Your Way that we would be fervent and sincere in our love for one another, bringing glory to You, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.
Amen
A Prayer for Each Other
Our Father,
Open our eyes, that we may obey, and be purified by conforming to the truth about reality. That sincere love may bloom and blossom in us for all our brothers and sisters, born from imperishable seed, the living and enduring word of God.
As He says, so will be.
Amen
Blessing
May we be reminded this week, even as we yet learn to recognize Him, that we are already accepted as children of our loving Father.
Photo by Jan Huber on Unsplash
1 Peter 1:17-23
Devotional:
There is a right way to fold towels, did you know? Just like there is a proper order to unload the groceries on the conveyor belt at the store. (If you can't imagine either in your head, just ask your mom or your wife—they know.) We learn to raise our hand in school, to close our mouth when we chew, to shake hands firmly, to bow our head and close our eyes when we pray.
We learn the patterns of performance that are polite, good, better, right. Our families, communities and cultures pass down the rules for approved and acceptable actions, until they become second nature in us. And we are rewarded for them too: responsible behavior preserves our rights in society and earns us privileges and trust in our circles. Alongside our actions, we also learn who we are, by tradition and education, telling us what we are like and what our nature and character will be.
Eventually, the combination of who we are and what we do and why we matter begins to merge until it is hard to untangle any one piece of it. I am and I do, and of course I matter. And we’re right, of course we do. But what happens when you redefine all three?
That’s where we are with Peter again, still writing to (mostly) Gentiles: he’s reminding them (and us) that who we are, what we do, and why we matter are all being reimagined. Our actions and the way we think of ourselves, and all the meaning we attach are subject to different definitions. Further, rather than this reframing throwing us into an unsettling existential crisis, we should be assured.
Who are we now? Well we’re disciples. What do we do now? We abandon the old futile ways of living, we conduct ourselves in respect of God, loving each other fervently. And why? Because we’ve been redeemed by His precious blood.
Except these are all the wrong questions—they are not new Kingdom questions. We just took our old questions and answered them differently, but we didn’t actually change frameworks at all.
Peter is telling us that yes it has all changed, but we’re not focusing the conversation on who we are, what we do, why we matter. He is asking us instead to understand who Christ is, what Christ does, why He matters. Because the gift and hope of the new Kingdom isn’t something we’re going to do or be ourselves into. We’re not going to find ourselves with enough willpower to suddenly change generations-old ways and habits and reinvent ourselves with any lasting ability. It’s outside of us.
So let’s look again. Who is He? He’s the plan all along, foreknown, shown to us now but intended from the very start. He is the living and enduring Word of God. And what does He do? He rescues us with His blood, raises from the dead and is glorified, then extends resurrection to us. And why does all of this matter? Because it is through Him that we are believers, through the living and enduring Word of God that we have been born again. His doing, His being, on our behalf. And with that mindset, now we can understand ourselves.
Now when we address Him as Father, it’s because Christ has made that relationship possible. Now when we are judged impartially (and seen to be born from above), it is through Christ. Now when we love one another fervently, when we interact, when we move through society, it is because Christ has given us belief, has placed our faith and hope in God. What He established outside of us, He then places into us.
When we move the focus of our questions to knowing Christ, who in turn points to the Father, we ground ourselves in Him. Through Christ, we believe in God, which gives us context and assurance of who He says we are, what He says we can do, why He says we matter. We don’t assume the pressure to change our nature—first or second—because Christ took on the effort and is causing it to happen. Our traditions get to be reinterpreted. Our habits get to be recharacterized. We don’t reinvent ourselves; Christ raises us with Him and places us as sons and daughters. Our faith becomes equally rich in personal meaning and shared history as we become one with Him.
Peter is helping us to understand that we have not inherited a long punch list of corrections to fix our lives to live like Christ, but we’ve received the gift of life planned and delivered to us, revealed to us, being worked out in us through Christ.
Blessed assurance, we are of Jesus—in whom we live, and move, and have our being… “For we also are His children.”
A Prayer for Each Moment
God we call as Father,
Who, through Christ our resurrection, resets our lineage and places us into His family, cause us to be obedient to You and Your Way that we would be fervent and sincere in our love for one another, bringing glory to You, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.
Amen
A Prayer for Each Other
Our Father,
Open our eyes, that we may obey, and be purified by conforming to the truth about reality. That sincere love may bloom and blossom in us for all our brothers and sisters, born from imperishable seed, the living and enduring word of God.
As He says, so will be.
Amen
Blessing
May we be reminded this week, even as we yet learn to recognize Him, that we are already accepted as children of our loving Father.
Photo by Jan Huber on Unsplash