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13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is right? 14 But even if you do suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts reverence Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence; 16 and keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are abused, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing right, if that should be God's will, than for doing wrong. 18 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit; 19 in which he went and preached to the spirits in prison, 20 who formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him. (1 Peter 3:13-22 RSV)
May this Tuesday be a tremendous one for you and for yours, my dear Friend! May it find you filled with joy and strength, calm and peace; that's my prayer!
Two examples of what I believe today's lesson asks of us: I had dropped out of seminary and I was hiding in the belly of the whale, i.e., AT&T-Houston with some 40,000 employees at that time. I was in a marketing class learning how to sell multi-line phone systems, and one day, out of the blue, one of my classmates said, "I want what you have!" I asked him what he meant by that, and he replied that he wanted the joy and calm that I had. I tried as best I could to tell him that it was not anything having to do with me, but with Jesus, Who lived in me and guided me. The second was a young man from Africa who attended Lon Morris College. He was always happy and every time we asked him how he was, he smiled the biggest smile and always said, "Pretty good, I guess." We knew he was happy in the Lord, but we also knew that he was homesick. I was 193 miles from my home, and I made it a point to go home every other weekend, as I worked alternate weekends in the school's cafeteria. He and I were both zealous for the Lord, as Peter writes above, and we knew that, as Paul wrote in Romans 8 (Hear that on my podcast below!) "Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus." Distance from home in my case was not something that made me suffer more than I could endure, and I held to the promises of Jesus, that "whoever leaves home for my sake..." I kept the greater picture in mind; I was preparing for my life's service in God's plan for me.
Some suffer greater things than distance from home; some have no home to which return. One of the things I learned from some classmates was that they could not return home until holidays. That bewildered me, because some of these classmates were from Houston as well. Their parents were strict about their not coming home until Thanksgiving and later Christmas. My folks told me I could get home whenever I wanted. Thankfully, there was always someone headed to Houston every weekend, and one of them was a young man whose girlfriend lived in Houston, so he was home Friday afternoons. I tagged along every other weekend. Others suffer abuse at home; some suffer neglect. And the ones to which this letter was addressed, suffered the possibility of death at the hands of the powers that be because of their faith. Peter shares how through Jesus, we have a great hope and as part of that hope, we are to be prepared to give a good account for that hope (See the above graphic). Many people may already know the reason of your joy and hope, and the ones who want to know, may give you but a few seconds to reply with an enticing response that will make them want to know more about your faith. It is, after all, your faith that gives us hope.
Smile. Listen. Respond with joy!
PRAYER: Loving Father, as we go about our day-to-day routine, grant us opportunities to share our faith and hope with those who are in need of the very thing that has blessed us. We want to lift spirits, dispel sadness, and usher in the Kingdom. We pray we make it possible, in the name of Jesus our Lord, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Find an opportunity to bless someone with hope today!
Receive my blessings of love and joy,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
Hear my podcast here: https://bit.ly/2zfRyrC
