Category: Verse of the Day

Peter sounds so much like Paul, don’t you think?  These are the kind of exhortations that we find frequently in Paul’s letters.  But today, we have Peter reminding us of what it means to be a Christ-follower, a believer.  It means seeing oneself in a new light; it means taking note of the old and the new; and it means putting into action the essence of what it means to be living in this new life.  And if there is any question on what that new life might look like, there is certainly no ambiguity on this exhortation, “love one another as if your lives depended on it.” Are you, gentle reader, doing this?

So, we can try — even if we don’t succeed.  To give and forgive, that is.  Actually, there are times when I think we shouldn’t even try because it is not in our nature to forgive in full.  Our concept of forgiveness pales so greatly in comparison to God’s forgiveness that it is almost insulting to even make the comparison.  But for whatever it is worth, perhaps we ought to keep trying over the course of a lifetime to give and forgive just as God has done for us.  May it be that the work of the Holy Spirit within the life of the Christ-follower, a.k.a., the believer, will allow us to achieve at least a small measure of these superhuman, nay, divine qualities.

Have you read this?  Have you really read this?  This is Paul writing to the early Christians in what is now modern-day Greece — and by extension to each and every Christ-follower today — to live a life that speaks and looks like Jesus in action, i.e., love in action.  The first and foremost exhortation is to love — but how?  Not just lip-service love, nay, but love that is sincere and real. Make it real, people!  When you look at a person and talk with them, make it real!  And go a step more:  show how your words can take the shape of action to help the other.  Reflect the greatest lover of all, Jesus, i.e., God incarnate.  Like Paul says, this is my prayer for you too, even as it is for myself!

I’m thinking this is exactly what happens to a believer too — when the Light of Life shines within you, it shines within you.  It may shine bright at times, and brighter at other times; it may shine dimly at times, but it never goes out.  The darkness can never put it out.  Isn’t that a most astounding thought? This is John, Jesus’ friend, companion, disciple, and author of the gospel of John describing the power of the Almighty personified in Jesus as God incarnate, as the Light of Life. Do you, gentle reader, have the Light shining within you?

Being a Christ-believer is not about becoming smug in the knowledge of your new-found confidence in your salvation.  Nay, it is about living a life full of Christ himself.  It is about being smart and hardworking; being nimble and quick; being gracious and good; being the one who uplifts another with one’s speech, “not put them down, not cut them out.”  That is Paul’s advice to the early Christians in Greece.  I think it would do each of us well to take it to heart as well.