1 Peter 1: 17-25
Tonight the evening news talked about two decisions passed down by our Supreme Court. One of the questions was concerning, not whether masking is medically advised, but who gets to make the decision whether companies with over 100 employees can require vaccination and weekly testing – the US government who is not composed of medical experts OR the CDC, composed of medical expertise. Who has the responsibility of making that call? It was something like that anyway. Similarly is the on-going battle between state power and federal power about decision making. It is enough to make our heads spin. Our news loves to interview people and get opinions from all sorts of “experts.” 1 Peter 1:17-25 deals with a similar dynamic.
“Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as a foreigners here in reverent fear. (v.17)”
Peter continues to say that God is not swayed by silver and gold. He is not paid to redeem us. We have been redeemed “by the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” Jesus Christ is the incarnation of God himself and walked through death, demonstrating his power over evil and he is impartial, loving all who choose to follow Christ. We are tasked with loving each other, not because of political party, not because of ethnic heritage, not because of social strata, and not because of laws. We are tasked to be impartial even as our God is impartial.
We are chosen and elected. We have been given “living hope” and an eternal inheritance being saved for us. Therefore we set our minds on that hope and do not conform to evil. We can trust our God’s wisdom in the midst of suffering because he is impartial and loves us. We live like foreigners in a world that is not impartial and does not love us.
It might be that the challenge is to live in “reverent fear.” The Message translates that as a challenge that we do not indulge in “sloppy living.” I suspect “reverent fear” would mean knowing this God, searching for his meaning, and trusting his wisdom. We are the strangers who need him to “teach us the ropes” of surviving trials.
Maybe you have an issue you are being faced with right now. It need not be humongous like immigration or vaccination but could be a friend who slighted you with an unkind word that cut like a knife. Can you boil the issue down into one word – I feel…insulted, slandered, disrespected or…? You can look in a concordance for Bible verses that deal with that exact issue. You can go to www.Biblegateway.com and type in the word and the version of the Bible you want to read. You can pray with a friend. Do not let the issue stew in your heart, dragging you down but live in reverent fear of a God who is impartial and will give you good advice. Blessings in the struggle.
On the Way to Wonder 