Friday 18 April 2008
- Bible Book:
- 1 Peter
"You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people..." (v. 9-10)
Background
The Old Testament is full of accounts of God's people who werescattered as a result of foreign forces and the upheavals ofpolitics and power struggles. In New Testament times there weremembers of the Jewish race who were scattered abroad as a result oftheir own choice. They had moved to find work and they often didvery well indeed.
Others of God's people - members of the early Church - were notJewish. They too were scattered over a wide area of the world. Theywere Gentile Christians and just as chosen by God as those wholooked back into Old Testament history and saw their roots there.God's flock was now living over an extended area.
Like the exiled Jewish people in Ezekiel's or Jeremiah's time, lifecould be hard. There was suffering which would have tested even thestrongest of faith. The writer of this letter to such Christianstries to encourage and offer words of advice as to how the readerscan cope with persecution.
In the letter, Christians are urged to live differently from thosewho criticise them and to avoid being caught up in the badpractices they see around them. They are to be careful to take careof each other. And they are to respect the rulers of society andtheir authority. This is summed up in the command to "Honour theemperor" (verse 17).
To Ponder
Do you find any difficulties in the command to"accept the authority of every human institution" (verse 13)?
What circumstances might arise when that would bea real problem for followers of Jesus today?
To what extent can you feel reassured that youare indeed 'called' and are therefore among God's people?