DAY35 Wind and Fire
Today’s Bible Reading
1 Peter 2:9-17
Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honour the emperor. - 1 Peter 2:17
Sometimes when I want to start a fire, the wind puts it out. But when I try to keep a fire burning, wind keeps it going. So, in the first case, I call wind ‘bad’ because it stops my plans; in the other, I call it ‘good’ because it helps me out.
This example shows how we judge things by the way they affect us. We call circumstances or people ‘bad’ if they get in our way or annoy us. We call circumstances or people ‘good’ if we agree with them and they do what we want.
But God is the One who really decides what is actually good or bad, and He does so not by how it affects our plans but by whether or not it works with His. His plan is that we would be “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation”. And His purpose for us is to “declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9).
To live by God’s good purpose, we are to respect all people, love others, put God first and pray for those who teach or lead us—even when something doesn’t seem good to us (v.17). These kinds of actions may challenge people who see us. When we react to ‘bad’ things by trusting God, they may well want to get to know Him too.
By Ames Chen
Questions:
1. How does Peter describe our identity as Christians (1 Peter 2:911)? Choose three descriptions that sound interesting to you or resonate with you and explain. what they mean to you.
2. Knowing our identity, who we are as Christians, how then should we live? Briefly list down the things that Peter exhorts us to do (2:11-17).
3. From the list above, focus on “show[ing] proper respect to everyone” and one other item of your choice. How can you apply these two things practically and live them out in the coming week?
Prayer:
Dear God, thank You for the Bible that teaches me to love You and others, even those I wouldn’t normally respect or care about. Please help me to view all people as You do. In Jesus’ name, Amen.