SCRIPTURE: Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 1 Peter 3:8-9 NIV
THOUGHT: Calling is a big word. I often hear people in full time Christian service talk about their calling, and how it was impossible to get away from, even if they wanted to. The call of God sounds mysterious and magnetic, as if some get one, but others don’t. But Peter demystifies it a bit. We are all called, he says, to repay evil and insults with blessing. To work at unity, sympathy, love, compassion and humility. And why? So that we may inherit a blessing.
It’s really not as exciting as hearing the voice of God asking you to do something really big, is it? I think I hear Erma Bombeck saying, “The problem with life is that it’s just so daily.” It’s so daily, this calling to work at blessing rather than revenge, even if your revenge amounts to silence and coldness toward someone who’s hurt you.
Trust me, the people with a call to full time ministry have to do this too. They’re often just thrown into a hotter pot where their ability to repay evil with blessing becomes a moment-to-moment discipline. I have a lot of pastor friends and I admire their mental toughness and ability to love the unlovely, many times within their own congregations.
I hope as we consider Peter’s words today, we’ll each stand a little taller, and carry ourselves as a people worthy of our calling.
PRAYER: Oh God, fill us with your Spirit today, and everyday as we walk out what you’ve called us to do; returning blessing for evil and insult. It’s not just hard, it’s impossible work without you.
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Blogger Amy Clemens is the author of Walking When You’d Rather Fly: Meditations on Faith After the Fall. In it she explores childhood sexual abuse and how it impacted her faith (or lack thereof) for four decades. You’ll find not only her story, but better yet, the Big Story of God.
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