A Conclusion (1 Peter 3:8-9)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 01-12-04

 

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  A Conclusion

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  1Peter 3:8-9

 

            Message of the verses:  “8 To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; 9  not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.”  (NASB95)  “8 Finally, all of you should be of one mind, full of sympathy toward each other, loving one another with tender hearts and humble minds.  9 Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate when people say unkind things about you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God wants you to do, and he will bless you for it.”  (NLT)

            When Peter writes “to sum it all up,” at the beginning of this verse he goes all the way back to chapter two and verse eleven where he began to address all readers, and then followed this up by talking to slaves in 2:18-25, and then wives in 3:1-6, and finally husbands in 3:7.  In Peter’s conclusion he says that believers should be of one mind, and that is unity.  A good description of unity is, “cooperation in the midst of diversity.”  Peter also tells the believer that he should sympathise with others, and one definition of that is to walk in another person’s shoes and to feel what he is feeling.  Peter then says that we are to love one another, and in the last part of Romans 5:5 Paul says that the love of the Holy Spirit has been poured out into the believer; so much so that it means it is overflowing.  Now because it has overflowed this love can be given or directed to others who are in need of it.  We are not only to love our Christian brothers and sisters, but also our enemies.  We are also to be tender hearted and humble to others.  Just because we know the truth does not mean that we are to lord it over someone who does not know it.

            There are three ways that a person can handle a situation when evil is done towards them:  1. You can handle it like the Devil and repay evil for good; 2. You can handle it like a typical human being are repay evil for evil and good for good: or 3. You can handle it like Christ did for us and repay evil with doing good.  Romans 5:6-8 speaks about this very wonderfully. 

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  One of the things that the Lord has impressed upon my heart through these verses is that when the Lord has opened my eyes to see the wonderful things from His Word that I am not to be so proud of that, for it is the Lord who is showing me these truths, so I am not to think less of others who have not seen the light of God’s truth the way He has shown it to me. 

 

The Word of God has bee a big challenge to me this morning along with being a blessing and convictive.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  To trust the Lord in working out those problems that are in our church.  To trust Him that He will do in our church the things that will be good for us and bring glory to Him.  To trust the Lord to work in my heart to be humble and loving even to those who are not seeing things the same way that I see them.