I'd like to end the week with this same passage from 1 Peter, chapter 2 verses 11-12 Beloved, I urge you as aliens and exiles to abstain from the desires of the flesh that wage war against the soul. Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that, though they malign you as evildoers, they may see your honorable deeds and glorify God when he comes to judge. We are called into a life. That life is to be one that is recognizable. Out on the street, it will be noted as being as 'different' as being an alien and an exile. We will stand out - and should. Our lives are a constant stretching out into the realm of God's graciousness and love. In that way, others will notice something about us that is sincere and real and -at times - odd. The people in the time of the writing of 1 Peter expected 'the end' to be near - in their life time - any day. Under such a timeline, I suppose we can all 'behave' in a fashion that is contrary to the rest of the world around us. But we are well past the time of the expectation of the followers of Jesus and his coming again. So how do we deal with God coming to judge? I would suggest everyday. I would also suggest that we look at how God has already judged us - beloved. Everyday this is the judgment - Beloved. The world around us will look at us and shake their heads and wonder how it is that we are the people we are and they will glorify the God who judges us to be Beloved. The life we live is within the realm of God's Reign of peace in which we are participants of that realm. Yes it will be contrary to the norm of the day (even today) but it will be a witness - a daily witness - to the God who makes us a holy people. In the face of a violent world, we live as ones who embody what our God judges to be beloved. Connection: God as judge is not someone to fear - as in being afraid. Rather, God as judge is the power of life that is to create awe among us. This awe is a part of the power of God that pulls us into the life that is promised. Remember, we do not rescue ourselves from the violence of this world - our God does that. Therefore, we can count on our God to judge us as God's beloved and that - that - is what is a shining glory to God in the midst of each day. In the middle of what is so common, O God, you let you glory shine within the lives of all your saints. We ask that such glory remain with us all the days of our lives. Amen. |
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