November 24

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

Man, oh man, is our New Testament passage packed today or what? As I read 1 Peter, I kept thinking to myself, “I could write about this. Oh wait, I could write about this! No, this is what I’m going to write about!!” So here we go.

First, a general observation – this confident, bold, direct Peter is the same Peter who denied Jesus to the servant girl by the fire. Isn’t it marvelous to see how Peter stepped into his position as “the rock” of the church, leading with courage and truth? I am so encouraged by his transformation.

Now, onto the verses themselves –

“Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God” (1 Pet. 2:16).

This verse is very convicting for me, as it would have been for Peter’s readers. As first generation Christians, they were probably overwhelmed with the freedoms they now experienced – freedom from guilt, freedom from the law, freedom from the obligation of perfect obedience to please God. And Peter tells them to live into this freedom, to embrace it, to not keep acting as they did before Christ set them free. But on the other hand, he warns them not to take advantage of the freedom, to not let freedom in Christ become an excuse to do evil. This is true for us today – God wants us to be truly free, not hamstrung by the need to be perfect or earn his salvation or live by a restrictive set of laws that he never intended. But there are still boundaries because we are servants of God. Here’s a practical application for us today. Alcohol can be a sensitive subject when it comes to believers, and, for many years, it’s been viewed by Christians as evil. But our freedom in Christ teaches us that no food or drink in and of itself is evil; we are free to partake, to enjoy it as we celebrate the abundance of God’s goodness in our lives (much like the people at the wedding in Cana did when Jesus turned the water into wine). However, we can’t use our freedom as an excuse to drink in excess. We are still servants of God. Drunkenness is never pleasing to the Lord and is not a reflection of someone living as his servant.  

Onto the next profound verse.

“When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly” (2:23).

This is SO hard for me to swallow. There have been a handful of times in my life where I’ve felt truly wronged, where I was falsely judged and the need to justify myself was STRONG. I want to be heard; I want to be understood. I want to tell my side of the story so that everyone knows I’ve been falsely accused. But the example of Christ is truly amazing – he did not retaliate, but he trusted himself to God, who is the true judge. Wow.

“Wives…do not let your adorning be external…but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious” (3:3-4).

Here’s another humdinger! What a challenge to us wives today. This is particularly striking to me as I live in Southern California (and am raising a daughter here). Outward beauty is very important in our culture – weight, teeth, skin, hair – everything is picked apart and evaluated. But God’s word tells us that those things aren’t what make us lovely to God (and shouldn’t be what’s important to our husbands, either). The person inside, the hidden person of gentleness, is what is precious to God. When I was in my 20s, those words “gentle and quiet spirit” used to really bother me. If you know me, I’m pretty much the opposite of that. I’m direct, bossy, not a people pleaser and not at all quiet. How then was I pleasing to God? But taken in their context of how a wife is to relate to her husband, they make a whole lot more sense. And I find them easier to apply. My husband, Ian, as is probably true for many husbands, is very tone sensitive. As the closest person to him in his life, I have the most power to hurt him, and very often this happens just through a tone. In our years of marriage, I have learned it really is a gentle and quiet spirit that helps my marriage thrive, and it’s surprisingly easy for me do, thanks to God’s grace in my life.

“Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered” (3:7).

Good – I’m glad they get their instructions, too. What a calling for husbands, to live with their wives in an understanding way. And what a consequence if they don’t – prayers that don’t get answered! So if there is a husband out there who has been praying for a job promotion while at the same time refusing to help his wife with household chores even though she’s been telling him she’s tired and overwhelmed and needs his help, perhaps he should reevaluate his decision!

But what about this “weaker vessel” business? What does that mean? At first glance, this can feel sexist, but upon further study, we see that it’s just the opposite. It is a frequent theme in the New Testament that God wants to affirm those whom society has disregarded (women, the lame, tax collectors, etc.) and here is another example. Peter is calling husbands to see the equality their wives have with them (“since they are heirs with you”) even though society has labeled them as weaker vessels. He calls them to honor their wives, rather than misusing the authority they have.

Okay, one more verse. Hang in there, because this one’s the best!

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness” (2:24).

That is the Gospel, people. The Good News doesn’t get any clearer than that! Jesus took our sins to the cross so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. Hallelujah! If you ever wonder what God has done for you or doubt his goodness or generosity, remind yourself of 1 Peter 2:24. That is what Jesus did for you; that is how much he loves you. Thank you, Jesus!!

- Esther McCurry

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