1 Peter 3:13-17 Just a reminder, Peter is writing to those he calls aliens, exiles, pilgrims, depending on your translation. In these few verses he challenges his readers to faithfully represent Jesus, even in the place they found themselves. Their zealous stand for their faith was the reason they found themselves as exiles. How tempting it would be to just blend in, to become part of the new culture and all your problems go away. That can easily happen to us, specifically if we move from one community to another, or perhaps when we start a new job, and we are faced with making a stand.
The center verse of the 5 (15) is key to holding fast to our faith. "...but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy,..." It seems to me that Peter is challenging his readers in regard to their true thought about Jesus. To honor him as 'holy' challenges us to consider what we really think about Jesus. How does the word holy define how we represent Jesus? If we remove the word holy from the phrase, it is still a good phrase, but if holy remains it becomes the focal point of this context and why we would continue to boldly represent him. If Jesus and our expression of him is reduced to something less than we believed in the past, then we have effectively changed Gods and bowed our knee to the convenience of silence.
You may find yourself in new job, or school, or community. The challenge is to be prepared to share why you believe- what the reason of your hope is. It is then that you honor Christ the Lord as holy!
Take courage, Pastor Paul
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