1 Peter 2:11-12 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.
The Word of God makes it clear that we are ambassadors for Jesus, while here on earth. Peter reminds us that we are pilgrims, sojourners, strangers, meaning that this world is not our home. We have been adopted into God's family, in Christ Jesus. As such, our transfer from Satan's family to God's family should be evident by a change in who we are, how we speak, and how we behave. Our address has been permanently changed from earth and Hell to Heaven. Our path has been permanently rerouted from eternal condemnation to eternal life. This should cause us to do all we can to glorify God with how we represent Him during our short time here. Just as the Christians Peter was writing to were suffering persecution; so we too will suffer persecution when we choose to surrender our life to Jesus. In the midst of that persecution we are to stand out in our response and behavior. Unlike the world, we are not to return evil for evil, but instead return kindness for evil. We are to love and pray for our enemies, and if God gives us opportunity, we are to give our enemy food and drink if they hunger and thirst. By doing this, we give God room to be our Avenger. We leave room for His wrath, but we also leave room for His love, mercy, and grace. Through our godly behavior and response, God may choose to win our enemies to Himself. The Apostle Paul was a good example of that. God met him face to face on the road to Damascus, but then chose Ananias to minister to him. Ananias obeyed the Lord's command, and treated Paul, who was an enemy of the church, with the love of Jesus. Acts 9:17 says this about how Ananias interacted with Paul, "And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him said, 'Brother Saul...'" The greatest vengeance we can take on our spiritual enemies is to cause their accusations to be empty and false by living a life that is holy and not stained with the wickedness of this world. We must do all we can to live a life that honors God, in the midst of a crooked and perverse world that will do all it can to point out our hypocrisy and lack of commitment to God every opportunity they get. Let us strive to rob them of that opportunity by silencing them with God-honoring lives. May the Lord God in Heaven be glorified by our actions and behavior here on earth.
Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).
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