Day 328

Ezekiel 47:1–48:35; 1 Peter 2:11–3:7; Psalm 119:49-64; Proverbs 28:12-13

IN OUR READING from 1 Peter today, we considered a life of character that rises above labels and accusation. As a reminder, Peter’s letter was written to those who had recently fled persecution in hopes of peace. Many of these people were finding themselves on the outer edges of society because of their faith in Jesus. Believers were being stereotyped as extremely strange, untrustworthy, and worse. If we consider the derogatory use of the N-word in our culture, we can better understand the kind of bigotry our brothers and sisters were facing at that time because they were called Christian.

Peter’s encouragement was for them to rise above the stereotypes and defeat the mischaracterizations with lives that were clearly unlike any of the slanderous things that were being said. For Peter, this living witness for the gospel touched everything, including submission to local and national authorities and the authority of an employer. Peter’s view was not unlike James’s in this regard —faith wasn’t only something spoken or thought, but needed to be lived, even if circumstances were slow in lining up. He said it this way:

If you suffer for doing good and endure it patiently, God is pleased with you. For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.

So that we’re clear, Peter wasn’t speaking only hypothetically about things that might happen. He was speaking to things that were happening, and his counsel to battle stereotypes extended into the home. Many husbands and wives had become believers in Jesus but their spouses had not, creating tension. This is not an uncommon scenario in today’s world, and Peter spoke into it:

You wives must accept the authority of your husbands. Then, even if some refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any words. They will be won over by observing your pure and reverent lives. . . . In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered.

Peter taught a comprehensive faith that is evidenced by the way we live our lives before others. Obviously, the most difficult place to consistently rise above misunderstanding is within our homes. But isn’t this ground zero for our faith? If we can’t live out our faith within our homes, before our spouses —regardless of their response —then everything else will invariably fall short. In fact, Peter was bold enough to tell husbands that their prayers can be hindered if their wives are not being treated as they should be. That’s kind of a big deal. It’s worth some consideration today.

As we’ve seen, our faith is an “always on, never off”part of our existence. It’s not something that is only spoken, and it’s most certainly not something that we put on with our Sunday best for church. Our faith is more clearly lived out behind the closed doors of our homes. If God’s mercy and grace fill our homes, it will spill out into everything else we touch by default.

Let’s invite the Holy Spirit to reveal the ways we are living into stereotypes rather than rewriting them with the truth of the Good News lived out in a transformed life. This is the point at which our faith is most challenged. But it is also the point at which it is most powerful.

MEDITATION:

He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone. He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly. He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed. Once you were like sheep who wandered away. But now you have turned to your Shepherd, the Guardian of your souls.