Day 353, or December the 19th. How to live a
good Christian life. Our thoughts today come
from 1 Peter, chapter 2, verse 17. Show proper
respect to everyone, love the family of believers,
fear God, honour or respect the Emperor. And
now the big picture surrounding this verse. It's
fascinating to read the writings of Peter, bearing
in mind that they come from one of our favourite
disciples, Simon Peter. As a Galilean, Peter
would have grown up speaking Aramaic in the home,
and Greek in business, so his Greek would probably
have been okay for writing letters like the ones
that bear his name. The Greeks and then the Romans
influenced Galilee. This resulted in violent
reactions that produced a stronghold for the
zealots, who were guerrilla fighters against
all non -Jewish influences. Peter writes his
first letter at a time of Roman persecution,
as Christianity is outlawed in a vain hope of
eradicating it. He encourages all believers to
be holy, love one another, and submit to secular
authorities, as they are under God too. And now
today's action step. Peter attempts to sum up
what it is to live a Christian life in three
words, respect, love, and fear. The message version
of the Bible joins these simple thoughts with
other surrounding verses and renders the passage
as, Make the master proud of you by being good
citizens. Respect the authorities whatever their
level. They are God's emissaries for keeping
order. It is God's will that by doing good you
might cure the ignorance of the fools who think
you're a danger to society. Exercise your freedom
by serving God, not by breaking the rules. Treat
everyone you meet with dignity. Love your spiritual
family. Revere God. Respect the government. In
these times when people shrug their shoulders
if they are challenged to live in a Christian
-based society, by asking, what is that exactly?
These words summarize it beautifully. Respect,
love, and fear of god these basics challenge
all of us care to join me as I try to reflect
them