Our culture is in a power struggle over who will determine morality for the culture. We find ourselves as Christians in a peculiar situation where we might be tempted to engage in this fight for power. The call of Christ to pick up our cross and follow him is one of sacrificial living in a world that is willing to do its worst to us. Throughout Peter’s letter to the churches, he is calling for this kind of living. A kind of living that reflects the love of Christ. One of the more baffling things about Jesus is that he is God in the flesh, and he got invited to the wild parties. He was the embodiment of everything that was good and sinners felt comfortable with him. How do we reclaim that kind of Christian witness? Peter, in this past week’s text, tells us to “keep our conduct amongst the Gentiles (non-believers) honorable so that they will glorify God” (2:12) and that by “doing good, we will silence the ignorance of foolish speaking” (2:15). In short, we are called to lead with our lives in how we proclaim the Gospel to the world.
We show honor to everyone, the President, Governor, Police, etc. We show honor to everyone we meet, those who disagree with us, those who want to do us harm, those who are “ruining our country,” etc. We show honor to everyone. Christians should be known for their love, humility, integrity, peace, and joy. What are we known most for?
This week we will be in 1 Peter 3:8-4:11. Read this section and reflect on these questions:
Why is suffering a good thing? Suffering from persecution and inconveniences in life are two different things entirely, but how you handle inconveniences in your life will determine how you might handle persecution. In what ways can the little inconveniences in life help you handle harder hardships and even persecution?
Family isn’t the only way to talk about the Church, but it is the primary descriptions for Peter. Spend a moment reflecting on how you understand the church to be family. How does the church being family help you become more like Christ? How does it help you live as a citizen of an alternative Kingdom to the kingdoms of this world?
Finally, Baptism is at the center of this section. What does baptism have to do with family, suffering, and how interact with this world?