1Peter 3:8-12
8 Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another, love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous;
9 not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.
10 For “He who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit.
11 Let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
There are some hard sayings in Scripture that are difficult to understand, but leave it to Pete to just lay it on the line and tell how things are supposed to be in down home language that we can all understand. A person who reads these verses will have a hard time claiming they are confused about their meaning.
I have mentioned the upside down kingdom before and here is a great description of what I mean. What Jesus wants of those that follow him is diametrically opposed to what the world would have you to do.
The world tells us;
- To be independent in our thinking not to join together in single-mindedness.
- To be tough and never let them see you sweat.
- To love only when someone shows you love in return.
- Having a tender heart makes you a sissy and we all know that courtesy on the highway or at the grocery store will just get you trampled on.
- That revenge is sweet and when someone takes advantage of us we should make them pay.
- There is no room for blessing someone unless you want something from them.
- If you want to see good days then make as much money as you can, step on as many people as necessary and if you have to lie a little to get ahead then so be it.
- That goodness and evil are relative and what is right for you may not be right for me so don’t judge me.
- That there is no God, we are here only by chance and when we die there’s nothing else out there, we are just gone.
A person who wants to follow God and have a close relationship with Him will follow what Peter has to offer here in these verses. There was a time when Peter was told by the rulers of this world to stop preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ or face the consequences. He told rulers, “We ought to obey God rather than man.” (Acts 5:29)
It is never too late to stop following what the world tells you to do and start obeying what God wants you to do. Don’t you think that right now would be a good time to begin to obey God?
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