Word@Work 1Pet28 - 1 Peter 2:17
Published: Wed, 06/03/09
Word@Work from BeaconLight
SPIRITUAL SUMMARY
1 Peter 2:17 Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honour the king. (NIV)
This packed sentence summarises Peter's instructions to Christians who are living in an anti-Christian environment. And that is where most of us are called to live, work, socialise, study, raise our families and eventually die. We know that this life is not the sum of our existence, to be clung to and preserved at all costs; it is the preparation for eternity. 1 Peter 1:13 explains the Christian's personal motivation (Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed): today's verse tells us how to make that work in practice.
Respecting others, who are made in the image of God, honours our Creator - even if they do not love Him. We are to honour them for His sake. What is the 'proper' way to respect them? Well, that will depend on our culture - providing that we do not disobey the Lord in what we do. Loving other believers has to start with recognising that they are only our brothers because God has made them His children, by grace ... just as we too came into His family (see www.crosscheck.org.uk). So we do not love other believers because they are lovely, but because Christ has died for their un-loveliness ... just as He has for ours.
To 'fear' God does not mean that we are too frightened to come to him. It means that we honour him because of His awesomeness, and as grateful people, we do not want to displease Him. That is why we should give full respect to business bosses, community leaders and national office-holders including the head of state - because God has commanded us to obey them (cf 1 Peter 2:13-14, Rom 13:1-7): and that includes obeying the taxation rules too. All this is practical Christianity in the workplace. It will be noticed, and we should pray that the glory will go to our Lord Jesus Christ.
Prayer: Sovereign and Creator God. I want to live for you. Please forgive me when I fall into the ways of the world, and live as though I am not expecting Jesus to return. Help me to give proper honour to all those I meet today, so that they may know that I serve a living Saviour. Keep me clean from the dishonesty that would foul my witness; and give me a refreshed awesome respect for You, as I work and worship. For Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.
You can read the verses around this Bible passage from the Internet Bible: - in English, and many other languages
This packed sentence summarises Peter's instructions to Christians who are living in an anti-Christian environment. And that is where most of us are called to live, work, socialise, study, raise our families and eventually die. We know that this life is not the sum of our existence, to be clung to and preserved at all costs; it is the preparation for eternity. 1 Peter 1:13 explains the Christian's personal motivation (Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed): today's verse tells us how to make that work in practice.
Respecting others, who are made in the image of God, honours our Creator - even if they do not love Him. We are to honour them for His sake. What is the 'proper' way to respect them? Well, that will depend on our culture - providing that we do not disobey the Lord in what we do. Loving other believers has to start with recognising that they are only our brothers because God has made them His children, by grace ... just as we too came into His family (see www.crosscheck.org.uk). So we do not love other believers because they are lovely, but because Christ has died for their un-loveliness ... just as He has for ours.
To 'fear' God does not mean that we are too frightened to come to him. It means that we honour him because of His awesomeness, and as grateful people, we do not want to displease Him. That is why we should give full respect to business bosses, community leaders and national office-holders including the head of state - because God has commanded us to obey them (cf 1 Peter 2:13-14, Rom 13:1-7): and that includes obeying the taxation rules too. All this is practical Christianity in the workplace. It will be noticed, and we should pray that the glory will go to our Lord Jesus Christ.
Prayer: Sovereign and Creator God. I want to live for you. Please forgive me when I fall into the ways of the world, and live as though I am not expecting Jesus to return. Help me to give proper honour to all those I meet today, so that they may know that I serve a living Saviour. Keep me clean from the dishonesty that would foul my witness; and give me a refreshed awesome respect for You, as I work and worship. For Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.
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