Active Hope

May 19, 2013 Background Scripture: 1 Peter 4 Lesson Passage: 1 Peter 4:1 – 11 “So, what are ya gonna do ‘bout it?” That simple question from the school yard playground from years past still carries with it a suggestion of rhetoric with a clear expectation that recent information we have obtained should spur us to some type of action. The fact is that this new information or the reminder of information that we have been in possession of but have not acted on still demands a response. The Apostle Peter’s letter to the Jewish Christians who were dispersed as a result of religious persecution contains a threaded message of hope. In spite of the situation and in spite of their circumstances, Peter wrote to remind the Christians that they had a living hope because of the example and power of Jesus Christ. Therefore, they were encouraged to receive the mind of Christ and use it as a weapon in the spiritual warfare of life. Or in the words of the Apostle Paul, they should allow this renewed mind to bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of the will of God. A life of salvation is lived victoriously when we walk after the precepts and examples of Christ and not according to the sinful desires of our flesh. Christians should fully accept that their past life was a life of sin and contrary to the will of God. However, now that we have been saved and are being sanctified by the blood of Jesus Christ, we are no longer slaves to our sinful desires and therefore we must take the mastery over them. Love should be our new mode of living as we move about within the social complex of this world. A life of love moves us further from the sins of the past that would seek to haunt us and destroy our witness. Many who were once part of our social circle will no longer be. This new life will seem strange to them as they recall days past when we—like them—ran after the things of this life that we thought at one time would ultimately bring us happiness. Now that we are saved, we know that all who pursue a sinful way of life will be brought into judgment because of it. This is all the more reason for us to strive to live a life that is pleasing to God that we may set an example for them that we may win them, with our actions, to the obedience of Christ. How we live is an expression of what is within us. If we are filled with anger, malice, jealousy, or ill will or any other such emotions or attitudes, these things will manifest themselves through our daily living. Contrariwise, being that we are filled with the hope that has come through the knowledge and acceptance of Jesus Christ, that same hope ought to be manifest in the way we live. It is our day-to-day living that makes our hope active. When our walk lines up with our belief, or put another way, when our living reflects our faith, then the hope that is within us is made active in the world around us. “So, what are ya gonna do ‘bout it?” In the words of a popular secular song, we should “walk it out”. Robert C. Hudson May 9, 2013