Living With an Eternal Perspective: A Guided Reading of Peter's Letter to the Persecuted Churchනියැදිය

In our relationships, what we say can be received quite differently depending on how, when, and where we say it. Has that ever happened to you? When what you said came across totally different from how you intended? It happened to Peter. He knew that how you do something is just as important as what you do.

Here, Peter instructs the church to be ready and able to defend their faith, but here’s the key: to do it with gentleness and respect. Again, Peter points to Christ as our ultimate example for how to live well in this world.

Jesus allowed Himself to be put to death in the flesh. His life and mission, and saving power was confirmed and vindicated when God the Father raised Him from the dead. Peter uses the image of Noah’s ark and baptism to illustrate the same truth for us. Through Christ’s saving power, we can put our flesh to death and be made alive in the Spirit. This new life in Christ is what empowers us to be able to respond to questioning, criticism, insult, or slander with gentleness and respect.

Our eggs are not in this world’s basket. Belonging to Christ frees us from what other people think and what other people do. That eternal hope of Jesus that now belongs to us can breathe life and blessing into both what we do and how we do it.

A Question To Ponder:

What’s one way you can practice responding with “gentleness and respect”? When was a time you wished you had responded with “gentleness and respect”?