If you have tasted the kindness of the Lord...

1 Peter 1:13-2:10 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹⁴ As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, ¹⁵ but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; ¹⁶ because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

¹⁷ If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; ¹⁸ knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, ¹⁹ but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. ²⁰ For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you ²¹ who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

²² Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, ²³ for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. ²⁴ For, “All flesh is like grass, And all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, And the flower falls off, ²⁵ But the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word which was preached to you.

2 Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, ² like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, ³ if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.

⁴ And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, ⁵ you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶ For this is contained in Scripture:   “Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone, And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.”    ⁷ This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, “The stone which the builders rejected, This became the very corner stone,” ⁸ and,   “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.

⁹ But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; ¹⁰ for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Peter was a man, like many of us, a simple working man, not formally trained in religious or spiritual matters. The paradoxes of Peter’s life and ministry serve as a great example to us. It was Peter who in Matthew 16, declares that Jesus is the Christ and Jesus responds saying that upon that revelation from God, that He is the Christ, Jesus will build His church. Yet shortly after that, when Jesus spoke of His impending death, Peter rebuked Him and Jesus said to Him:   "Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's." (Matthew 16:23)     It was Peter, who on the night Jesus was betrayed, denied Jesus, denying even that he knew Him. Yet this same Peter, after seeing the resurrected Christ, after being filled with the Holy Spirit, boldly preached a message of salvation, on the day of Pentecost and 3000 souls were saved. This same Peter became a worker of miracles, in the name of Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit. Peter was radically transformed, knowing both Jesus the man who walked with the disciples and Jesus the risen Son of God, who has: All authority in heaven and on earth. (Matthew 28:18)

It is out this personal radical transformation, that Peter writes and encourages believers in how they should live. Today’s text says:   Prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.     Peter calls us to prepare for action. Following Christ is an active endeavor, not something we can do passively. It is our minds though that Peter says we should prepare for action. Following Jesus is more than a decision we make to believe He died for our sins and to receive the blessings of the finished work of the cross; eternal life and abundant life in Christ. To follow Jesus is a decision we must make daily, hour by hour, even moment by moment. Jesus says: "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23) Today’s text says:   As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”      We, like Peter, are called to be radically transformed. We are indeed saved by grace, redeemed from our sins through the grace of God, demonstrated in the cross of Christ. We though, are called to change. We are called to put on the righteousness of Christ, and like Him to be and to live Holy.

Peter says:   conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers,  but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.     Although on the night Jesus was betrayed, Peter had denied knowing Jesus, still as Jesus was crucified, as He suffered the anguish of the cross, Peter watched. He saw firsthand the suffering of Christ. He heard with his own ears, when Jesus said: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34)  Having personally witnessed the sacrifice of Christ, Peter knew he must be transformed. He knew he could never take for granted the precious blood Jesus shed. Peter continues:   Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.   If we have tasted the kindness of the Lord, if we have witnessed the sacrifice He made for us, we too will long to be radically transformed. Peter says we should grow in respect to salvation. Our salvation comes only by the grace of God, through faith, believing that Christ indeed died for our sins. Having received our salvation through grace though, we should grow in respect to our salvation. We are not to remain as we were. We too should long for the purity of Christ’s word, to become like Him.

In Matthew 16, Jesus said that upon the revelation that He is the Christ, He would build His church. The church and its authority are built and established on who Jesus is. Peter says:  And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God,  you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For this is contained in Scripture:   “Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone, And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.”    This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, “The stone which the builders rejected, This became the very corner stone,” and,   “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.      The world may not see, they may not believe who Jesus is, that He is the rock upon which everything is built and established. We though, who believed are called to become like that rock, to partner with Jesus, the foundation and cornerstone of anything worth building.

Peter says:    But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.     Believers, those who follow Christ, God’s own possession, are not people of any one nation, not people of any particular ethnic origin. God did not call us because of our earthly, human identity. Rather, in and through Christ, we have become His chosen people.  Because of what Jesus has done, not because of who we were, because we have received mercy, we are called out of darkness into His marvelous light. Because of the precious blood of Christ, we too, like Peter, should be radically transformed. We should be Holy, as He is Holy and like Peter we should do the works that Jesus did. Our life like his should be a paradox, what we were and what we have become.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit thank You that by Your grace I have seen the crucified Lord. I have heard Him cry out “Forgive them.” I also have seen the risen Christ and You have filled me with Your precious Holy Spirit, may I never take Your grace on Your precious blood for granted. I choose daily, moment by moment, to live for You, to become like You, Holy as You are Holy and to do the works You have called me to do.   Amen