Living Hope Day 5

Living Hope Day 5 Reading:

1 Peter 1:22–2:3 

Ponder

Just as our salvation compels us to live holy lives, it also calls us to love other believers with “sincere” love (v. 22). Because we have been changed by Christ, we can love others with a sincere, selfless kind of love. Knowing that we have been forgiven and set free from so much, we are able to put our own selfish needs aside and focus on the needs of others. Christians, therefore, are to be characterized by a deep abiding love for one another. 

Peter also reminded his original readers (and us) about a couple of important truths that should help to focus and define our lives. 

• You are made for eternity, so focus your life and attention on the things that last. This world and everything in it are like grass and flowers, Peter wrote, reminding his readers of Isaiah 40:6-8. They wither and fade, and only the word of the Lord endures forever. “Don’t get too focused on the things the world values,” Peter seemed to be writing. The things the world values most—power, wealth, popularity and so forth—aren’t the things that will last for eternity. Only the things of God will—his will, his work and his word. Rather than rooting our lives in the perishable, Peter urged Christians to root their lives in the things that last. Rather than focusing our lives on things that are fading away, we are to root our lives in the gospel of Christ, who loved us and gave himself for us (Gal. 2:20). 
  

• We need to put away behaviors, beliefs and attitudes that destroy love. As Peter explained in 1 Peter 2:1, we need to “get rid of” (NLT) things that seek to destroy our relationships with other believers, such as deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy and unkind speech. Christians are to be characterized by love for one another, and these things rip apart the love that should bind us together. 
  

• We should desire to grow and mature as followers of Christ. We often read these verses and think that Peter must have been writing to new believers, but most scholars agree that is unlikely. Instead, he was comparing the life of a believer to that of a baby who desires the sustenance he or she needs to grow. There is a yearning for the nutrients and nourishment they need to survive and thrive. While there are definitely ups and downs in our Christian journeys, there should be a defining desire for God’s Word, his people and his ways. 

Journal

• Take a moment to examine and pray over your life. How are you focusing on eternal things? How are you focusing on things that won’t last? 

• What specific changes do you need to make today to focus your life more on the things that last?

• Are you cultivating any behaviors, beliefs or attitudes that destroy love? 

• Seek forgiveness for those things and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in rebuilding relationships with fellow believers. What are some practical steps you can take to begin this process? 

• How have you seen things like deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy and unkind speech tear apart a church or body of believers? What did you learn from that experience? 

• A life of faith is full of ups and downs; no journey of faith is characterized by a straight, linear growth—but our lives should be characterized by a desire and yearning to grow, to engage with God’s Word and spend time with other believers. How do you see that yearning in your own life? 

• How do you need to lean into that yearning and fuel your desire to grow as a follower of Christ? List 1-2 ideas.