1517 Blogcast

So Peter closes out the section of his letter that has come to be referred to as “1 Peter, Chapter 1.” He writes to the Christians of Asia Minor and uses this portion of the letter to remind them of all that God has done for them through His Son Jesus Christ. He closes with a quote from Isaiah to emphasize the eternal nature of the word that was preached to them; the word that promises new life and gives what it promises.

There is a message going around these days that many Christians are missing out on significant blessings of Christ because of insufficient awareness of the power of His indwelling presence. This message goes something like this: There is a distinction between Christ-for-you and Christ-in-you. 

It’s easy for us to get attached to things. An old suit that doesn’t fit anymore. A cabin we’ve inherited. A pew at church our family sat in for generations. An ideology we can’t give up. An argument we’re sure we won.

Like most good Christian girls growing up in the last few decades, the advice I received about marriage during my teens and early adult years is largely a mixed bag. Some of it has been helpful.

I am a zealous advocate for doing apologetics. While apologetics is defined as the defense of the Christian faith, the simplicity of this definition does not help one understand the complexity of the problem of defining or practicing apologetics. There is a great diversity of approaches when it comes to the task. 

“Baptism…now saves you…” (1 Peter 3:21): this is the climax of 1 Peter, a letter by the apostle with the same first name written to congregations in Asia Minor. Peter’s goal was to strengthen the faith of believers in the face of oncoming persecution; persecution he was probably already feeling at the hands of Emperor Nero in Rome. His letter is awash in the language of baptism, reminding his readers they are, “born again to a living hope in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3). 

George Frideric Handel, the Saxon Lutheran living in England, locked himself into his London flat on this day, the 21st of August, in 1741. He would emerge 14 days later with a 300-page oratorio that was destined to become the greatest piece of music written in the English language. 

What would have happened to Peter, Paul, or any of us if there were no pain and death? On Sunday morning, instead of going to church, we would all roll over and go back to sleep. Snoring our life away, more or less in comfort, but never understanding the purpose and goal of pain and death.

I am quiet and relaxed. The temperature is just right. Breathing slowly and purposely, I focus on the black emptiness behind my eyelids. I listen to the hum of a fan spinning just a little too loudly above my head. No, don’t think about the fan, I tell myself. Block it out. Open your heart. Inhale.

On a recent episode of the Thinking Fellows, where I was a guest, Dr. Rosenbladt asked me what he rightfully considered to be one of the most vexing of all questions regarding the founding of these United States and the role of the faith of our founders.