Peter concludes his missive on submission to others, especially slaves and wives, by telling everyone in every category that he or she should live lives in harmonious order. Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. In a world of varied cultures and conventions, Christians should function in their communities with love and compassion, not as thorns in the flesh of those who do not agree with us. Of course, righteousness comes only through trusting in Christ as the gate to salvation, and hiding in him brings us into the family of God. No one can please God completely without the covering of the blood of the Lamb. We are to bring grace and mercy to this earth whenever we can. 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. How often as Christians, the shining examples of God’s love, do we bring the opposite of what Peter is talking about? How often do we choose not to give a tip at a restaurant when we think that we have not received the best service. How often are we willing to complain to people if we feel wronged by them. How often do we reverse the adage of buyer beware to seller beware when we purchase items at a low price from individuals who do not know the real worth of what they are selling. Doing so, we knowingly take advantage of an older person who is selling his or her possessions to move into a rest home. Are we Christians truly the light of the world, or are we functioning as the world, unwilling to take the short end of any situation? Are our tongues honest, forthright or are we dishonest, deceitful in our speech? Jesus addresses the way one should live when He describes the difference between the sheep and the goats. In this homily He does not talk about righteousness coming from faith but from how one lives. Then the King will say to those on his right, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” (Matthew 25:34-36) Why were these people blessed by God? They fed the hungry, gave water to the thirsty, invited strangers into their homes, clothed the naked, cared for the sick, visited those in prison. Does this sound like the lifestyle of Christians in this modern age, especially in the most prosperous countries? Yes, we give money to missionaries and agencies that help people in the third world. But in the description of people that Jesus said were to be honored by God, He uses the word, “you,” an involvement with others that is personal. Do we find ourselves avoiding what Jesus said depicts a righteous life? We are not helping the hungry, thirsty, naked, imprisoned, shelterless people; instead, our activities often entirely focus on ourselves and our families. Most sermons on a Sunday morning do not highlight a righteous lifestyle for believers. The opposite of sacrificing for others becomes the focus of a successful Christian life: prosperity, security, and healthy, entertaining pursuits are our main goals. This manner of living is not necessarily bad, but it can lead to the life of the goats, with no concern for the unfortunate, the least of these in our communities. However, living for ourselves exclusively can be categorized as idolatry: serving self over God’s concerns. We need to evaluate our lives in this matter, including the authors of this breakfast.
Dad has been reading a book titled, Dangerous Love, by Ray Morgan. Morgan describes an incident where he and his daughter almost lost their lives. He was administering a World Vision outlet in a Moslem country after the 9-11 attack in New York. The world, especially in the Moslem countries, was very unsettled. For people from the Western world, the Islamic countries were a very dangerous place. This was true of where the Morgans lived. One day he and his daughter, Hannah, were attacked. His ten-year-old daughter was shot in the chest, and he in the arm. The bullet went through the car window, through his arm and into the chest of his daughter. He was able to escape his attacker and get back to a small community for assistance. They were then medivaced to France for surgery and medical help. They had barely escaped this situation with their lives. Tom and his wife Helene decided they would continue their mission in the country where they were attacked. The people and the authorities in that country greeted them happily upon their return to further their work. Tom and his daughter proceeded to live their lives as they did before the attack, seemingly integrating successfully back into the Moslem country and their daily routines: he at his work and his daughter in school. But Helene, was struggling, for she was in the home without the involvement with others in the community. She was in depression; the Christians around her could not offer her the right words of comfort and understanding. They were not very sensitive to her emotional needs, for they knew she was not the direct target of the violent attack. Consequently, they provided emotional assistance for her husband and daughter, but not for her. One day, she received an invitation from a group of women in a migrant community; a place of extreme poverty. The men in this large community would leave during the daytime to either work in the nearby city or beg on the streets. The women were left alone during the day in their community of tents in the midst of chaos, squalor, and misery. Garbage and sewage were everywhere in this encampment. These women in this poor Moslem country were the poorest of the poor in the world. But Tom’s wife accepted their invitation. She was driven there by a World Vision driver. She did not know what was going to happen that day. The migrant Moslem women greeted her with joy, honored her, gave her a beautiful burka and jewelry. With words of comfort and empathy, they expressed how difficult it must be for her to have members of her family attacked. They understood how she felt as the wife and mother of those who were almost killed. They had experienced or known someone who had the same trauma. Their words were a healing salve, pacifying the frustrations and fears that troubled Helene. These women who lived on less than a dollar a day, many dressed in ragged burkas, gave her gifts they could not afford to give themselves. They gave their best to a Christian women who would never have to live in their community of poverty. While doing so, they illustrated the lives of the sheep. Helene was sick and they looked after her.
Are we as Christians willing to be examples of a sheep’s life? Or are we desirous of evil happening to people with whom we disagree? Do we want the migrants in our lives treated well? Do we want people who express views contrary to our theology treated well? Do we want people who disagree with our political views treated well? Or are our deeds and attitudes evil? Do we seek peace, goodwill, and harmony with others? Do we express the attributes of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives? Yes, most of us who know the Bible believe in Peter’s admonition of slaves submitting to a froward master, but we do not believe in us submitting to those with whom we disagree. Yes, let the slave submit; yes, let the wives submit; but no, let us not submit to an adverse idea, politically or socially. Peter says, we must turn from evil and do good; we 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. Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? The Moslem women in the above situation disagreed with Helene’s Christian dogma and lifestyle; yet they gave their love to her. How embarrassing it is for us Christians to despise other people who disagree with us. Are we not all children of the same God? Did not the angel who announced the coming of the Lord express that this baby would bless all people: But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. (Luke 2:10) Jesus came as the Good News for everyone. All people everywhere need this good news of a Savior, but Christians must express what God counts as righteousness. We are to be sheep in our activities and attitudes. Yes, Jesus is the gate to the inner circle of God’s family. Yes, we IN JESUS, through faith in his works, are known as brothers and sisters in the family of God. But we must be eager to do good. The world is judgmental; the world destroys, tears apart. The world esteems its ideas above all others. Are we like the world or like Jesus Christ, who gave his life out of love for mankind? Are we willing to be sheep, for God is watching? It is not our attitude He is counting, but our actions. Let all of us examine our lives continually, for God is examining them, even our thoughts and the purposes of our hearts. For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12 KJV)
Dad has been reading a book titled, Dangerous Love, by Ray Morgan. Morgan describes an incident where he and his daughter almost lost their lives. He was administering a World Vision outlet in a Moslem country after the 9-11 attack in New York. The world, especially in the Moslem countries, was very unsettled. For people from the Western world, the Islamic countries were a very dangerous place. This was true of where the Morgans lived. One day he and his daughter, Hannah, were attacked. His ten-year-old daughter was shot in the chest, and he in the arm. The bullet went through the car window, through his arm and into the chest of his daughter. He was able to escape his attacker and get back to a small community for assistance. They were then medivaced to France for surgery and medical help. They had barely escaped this situation with their lives. Tom and his wife Helene decided they would continue their mission in the country where they were attacked. The people and the authorities in that country greeted them happily upon their return to further their work. Tom and his daughter proceeded to live their lives as they did before the attack, seemingly integrating successfully back into the Moslem country and their daily routines: he at his work and his daughter in school. But Helene, was struggling, for she was in the home without the involvement with others in the community. She was in depression; the Christians around her could not offer her the right words of comfort and understanding. They were not very sensitive to her emotional needs, for they knew she was not the direct target of the violent attack. Consequently, they provided emotional assistance for her husband and daughter, but not for her. One day, she received an invitation from a group of women in a migrant community; a place of extreme poverty. The men in this large community would leave during the daytime to either work in the nearby city or beg on the streets. The women were left alone during the day in their community of tents in the midst of chaos, squalor, and misery. Garbage and sewage were everywhere in this encampment. These women in this poor Moslem country were the poorest of the poor in the world. But Tom’s wife accepted their invitation. She was driven there by a World Vision driver. She did not know what was going to happen that day. The migrant Moslem women greeted her with joy, honored her, gave her a beautiful burka and jewelry. With words of comfort and empathy, they expressed how difficult it must be for her to have members of her family attacked. They understood how she felt as the wife and mother of those who were almost killed. They had experienced or known someone who had the same trauma. Their words were a healing salve, pacifying the frustrations and fears that troubled Helene. These women who lived on less than a dollar a day, many dressed in ragged burkas, gave her gifts they could not afford to give themselves. They gave their best to a Christian women who would never have to live in their community of poverty. While doing so, they illustrated the lives of the sheep. Helene was sick and they looked after her.
Are we as Christians willing to be examples of a sheep’s life? Or are we desirous of evil happening to people with whom we disagree? Do we want the migrants in our lives treated well? Do we want people who express views contrary to our theology treated well? Do we want people who disagree with our political views treated well? Or are our deeds and attitudes evil? Do we seek peace, goodwill, and harmony with others? Do we express the attributes of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives? Yes, most of us who know the Bible believe in Peter’s admonition of slaves submitting to a froward master, but we do not believe in us submitting to those with whom we disagree. Yes, let the slave submit; yes, let the wives submit; but no, let us not submit to an adverse idea, politically or socially. Peter says, we must turn from evil and do good; we 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. Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? The Moslem women in the above situation disagreed with Helene’s Christian dogma and lifestyle; yet they gave their love to her. How embarrassing it is for us Christians to despise other people who disagree with us. Are we not all children of the same God? Did not the angel who announced the coming of the Lord express that this baby would bless all people: But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. (Luke 2:10) Jesus came as the Good News for everyone. All people everywhere need this good news of a Savior, but Christians must express what God counts as righteousness. We are to be sheep in our activities and attitudes. Yes, Jesus is the gate to the inner circle of God’s family. Yes, we IN JESUS, through faith in his works, are known as brothers and sisters in the family of God. But we must be eager to do good. The world is judgmental; the world destroys, tears apart. The world esteems its ideas above all others. Are we like the world or like Jesus Christ, who gave his life out of love for mankind? Are we willing to be sheep, for God is watching? It is not our attitude He is counting, but our actions. Let all of us examine our lives continually, for God is examining them, even our thoughts and the purposes of our hearts. For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12 KJV)
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