Life Style

1 Peter 2:1 Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, 2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. 4 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, "Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame." 7 Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, "The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone," 8 and "A stone of stumbling And a rock of offense." They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed. 9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

Can you imagine the insight Peter has as he speaks of this? This is the young man who gave up everything to follow Jesus, (the king of the Jews,) only to find there was no apparent wealth or power to be had in following Jesus.

This is the same Peter, who was on his way to becoming a successful partner in his father’s fishing business – who gave it all up for…nothing in this world?

Whatever you may gain for yourself in this world is worth nothing in the next. This is what Peter has learned from Jesus, and this is what he shares with us. The life of a follower of Jesus Christ looks decidedly different. There is a decision which had been made, to be different.

What difference does it make? Well, it makes a great difference in your life. It changes how this world affects you in every way. The things that prompt the lust of the flesh in others should have no effect on you. The things that make other people angry should no longer affect your mood. With your eyes on Jesus, and following Him as closely as possible, your life begins to resemble Christ’s life spiritually and physically.

As a disciple of Christ, we are called by Christ to “make more disciples.” As we begin to make our lives a pattern of Christ, we become worthy of having others make their lives a pattern of ours. In truth, as Peter is saying, this is where the church stands or falls.

-Pastor Bill