Verse of the Day: 1 Peter
3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be
ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope
that is in you, with meekness and fear;
Would anyone want our
faith if they were given permission to observe us, without our knowledge, for
an extended period of time? I say without our knowledge, because if we knew
they were watching, many of us would be on our best behavior. What would be
their impression of Christianity, and what it is to be a Christian? Would they
want to model their home-life after ours (because of the way we treat our
spouse and children)? Would they want to be a better employee or employer? Would
they see us treating people with love, kindness, respect, and see us always
willing to help those in need? What would be the final analysis of our
morality? Would they see that we are consistent in our behavior, both privately
and publicly? Would anyone, in observing how we live, question why we live that
way, or would they just see us as hypocritical because of the inconsistencies
of what they see and what they hear us say about our relationship with Jesus?
On the flipside, would our life, lived for Christ, be so in opposition to what
the world says is right and acceptable, that we would be mocked, and suffer
persecution? The answer to these questions can only be honestly answered by us
and the Lord, because there are those moment in our lives when He is the only
One present to see it, and know it. In this chapter, the Apostle Peter gives
instruction to the wives and husbands in respect to how they should behave with
one another, as well as how we should behave toward each other as
brothers/sisters in Christ. He also goes on to tell us that a chaste, and
obedient, life lived for Christ can lead to people speaking evil of us.
However, we are to endure because it is better to suffer for well-doing than it
is as a result of our own sinful, wicked, behavior that dishonors the Lord. In
this verse, the Apostle tells us that if we suffer for doing what is right and
living for Jesus Christ, rather than be troubled and panicked, we are to “sanctify
the Lord in your hearts”. In other words, we are to have more fear, and respect,
for the Lord in our hearts, than we have for men (Is 8:13). We are to make what
is important to God a priority to us, and of more importance than the opinions
of men, and fear not men; who are a stumbling block to our faith when we fear
them more than when we fear God (Prov 29:25; Ps 112:1). The Apostle Peter knew the
consequences of living for the Lord, and what it was like to be put in a place
to have to choose between obeying God or obeying men, and the consequences of
choosing God (Acts 5:28-30). When we sanctify the Lord in our hearts, we see Him
as holy, and desire that others see Him as holy (hence, the reason we must take
care to not bring dishonor to His Name by living an unrighteous, and unholy,
life). For this reason it is also of utmost importance that our speech be
absent of disrespect and irreverence; putting corrupt speech away from us, as
this does not represent who we are supposed to be in Christ (Eph 4:29; Col 4:6);
and we are careful of the company we keep in general (1 Cor 15:33). The Lord
becomes the focus of our lives, and the One we turn to when things go awry. He
becomes the answer to life’s challenges, far above any ideas we may have or
anyone else we may think of to help us in times of difficulties. When we live
in this manner, we must also be ready to give an answer to those that oppose
us, and those who take a genuine interest in knowing why we live as we do. That
means that we must also be careful to be in prayer, and in the Word (reading
and studying it). May I ask this? When we give that answer, can we do it with
humility (meekness), and fear (fear of the Lord, that we not discourage others
by answering with pride or rudeness)? Sadly, I have seen too many people turned
from the Gospel, and from Jesus, because too many well-meaning Christians were
far too aggressive in their approach to presenting their faith to others. We
have no need to force what we believe on others. Our responsibility is to share
Christ with others by the way we live, and by verbally presenting the Gospel
message, but we are instructed to always speak the truth in love (Eph 4:15).
God is the One who will touch the hearts of the unbeliever, and draw him/her to
Himself. Let us today commit ourselves to making God the priority of our lives,
and seek to live for Him, not based on how we “think” He wants us to live for
Him, but by sanctifying Him in our hearts and living for Him in fear and reverence,
choosing His ways (by how we behave toward our spouse, children, brothers/sister
in Christ, and others in general) over the ways of man.
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