Good morning, today is Tuesday, May 12, 2020. My name is Keith and I am one of the pastors at Green Acres Baptist Church in Athens, GA.
1 Peter 3:1-12
Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.
Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.
Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For,
“Whoever would love life
and see good days
must keep their tongue from evil
and their lips from deceitful speech.
They must turn from evil and do good;
they must seek peace and pursue it.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
and his ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
There is a lot in these verses, but keep in mind that we have moved into the main body of Peter’s letter where he is encouraging the Christians to whom he is writing to stay faithful to the teachings of Jesus, even in the midst of persecution. Peter has used so many great metaphors and word pictures to help us understand our identity, who we are, in the pervious verses, but then we are reminded that we are these things in exile. We are sojourners and strangers, people who are whole and being made whole in a world that is broken.
We respond to this deep brokenness in the world, often seen in the most intimate relationships, as an opportunity to live out Christ’s teachings of radical love and self-sacrificing service. We as Christians have been liberated from the slavery of sin, the world, and the Satan himself in order to love those who persecute us.
As Christians we need to remember that our King is a different kind of ruler than the rulers of this world. And as people who are different we should not be surprised when those around us don’t understand and we even face some sort of persecution for it. And, what I think is wort pointing out is Jesus’ words to love and serve those who persecute us.
This is the same new way of living, a radically different way of living, that Jesus talked about in his teachings. Being a follower of Jesus means that we follow his teachings to be and act like radically different people. Our values are love, peace, service, and humbleness — to love God and our neighbors; not trying to be the loudest voice, the most powerful person, or the most important figure. It is actually in this way of living that others will come to know Jesus through us.