God, through Peter, calls us to set our hope fully on the future and final fullness of grace that will come with the return of Jesus Christ. This hope is the foundation for all our hopes and a driving force in living a life set apart.

Peter begins his letter by directing his readers to God's salvation and the way it should affect their perspective on the past, present, and future.

Peter sets the course for his letter by addressing his readers as

The

The consequence of Christmas is the gift of belonging that Jesus gives to all who come in faith, making them children of God.

In asking why God chose Joseph and Mary to be the earthly parents of His Son, we are asking what God is looking for in any parent who wants to reveal Jesus Christ to the world.

As parents teach their children the things of God, they must also correct and instruct them, as God disciplines His children, in order to show them the danger of their sinful condition and direct them to the joy of faith.

Every parent is called by God to be a teacher who not only declares God's truths but also demonstrates them, so that a life of faith is imparted, not just information.

The goal of our parening must always be to bring, in every way and any circumstance, our children to Jesus Christ.

Only when we look to Jesus, as we do in John 13, only hours before the cross, do we the example we need to live lives of radical love.