The Theme of Destination ...

In the preamble of his first letter, Peter has identified himself as an apostle of Christ.  He outlined a mini-discourse of the process of salvation, and how the Jesus Christ of his own day, ties back to the hope of the prophets of God who went on before.  Peter is keen to show his readers that the true religion of God is not inconsistent, nor did it only begin at the first advent of Christ, but that like all things, it originates in the love of the Father God Himself.  In what now begins of his exhortation to his readers, Peter is concerned about several themes.  He worries about the infiltration of the concept of “cheap grace” that is - the idea that forgiveness becomes license TO sin, rather than a means of escape FROM sin.  He worries about Christians who believe that gossip, idle conversation, and speaking harmless fun at the expense of another has already done damage to the cause of Christ, and to the souls who engage in these practices.  And he worries that already the church could lose the reputation of being those who value love above all else.  So as he begins, he calls the minds of his readers, to the goal of our transformation, to the destination we all aspire to reach.

Peter continues in verse 13 of chapter one of his first letter exclaiming … “Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.”  The first step on the road to our homeward bound destination of being with Jesus Christ begins with looking towards that event.  We must set the priorities of our lives on being with Christ.  It should be the first thought that occupies our minds, and guides our interactions.  It should become an integral part of our motivation; that will in turn affect our actions.  To be “alert” is to be aware, that our natural state is one of carnal desire, and love of self.  We must not become numb to behavior we have so long indulged, but rather understand its impact on our lives.  It is sobering to understand the pain our sin causes us, the ones we love, the ones who love us, and our God.  It is not a casual or meaningless thing, the behavior behind self-love.  But the intent is not to become lost in our past; rather it is to set our hope on grace.  Our destination is achieved through the transformational power of His grace on our hearts of stone.

Peter continues in verse 14 … “As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.”  Children do NOT possess the entirety of knowledge this world and experience have to offer.  Our transformation is not about how much we know.  It is not about a mastery over our past and our motives.  Rather it is a surrender to a Parent who is able to protect us, guide us, and teach us – with the full knowledge that our Parent loves us and love alone motivates His actions in our lives.  We obey “without understanding” everything there is to know about why we do it, or why we should.  Obedience becomes the natural result of a trusting child who is sure of their Parent’s love.  We obey without “thinking” about it.  Our lives are not meant to continue in the former path of self-destructive behavior that causes pain to everyone.  They are meant to take the knowledge of the absolute love of Christ, and allow Him to transform who we are, receiving His transformation in the humility and willingness of a small child.

Peter continues in verse 15 … “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; [verse 16] for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”  The quest for perfection, and thereby for a life without the pain sin causes, leads us to the ultimate goal of being like He who has called us.  We are in the very process of learning to love like God loves.  We are in the very process of learning to think like God thinks.  Our motives are to become like His motives.  Our actions are to become like His actions.  We are to become Holy in ALL we do, because holiness or the perfect love of others, is becoming the whole of “who” we are.  Our rebirth into Christianity, our exodus from self-love and chains of slavery to sin, are broken.  We are on the path towards becoming like Jesus Christ in how we love, how we think, and in what we do.  This is our destination.  The end-game for believers is not a city of gold.  Nor is it an eternal life where everything we need has been provided for us already by the heart of a loving God.  No, our destination is bigger than that, it is more important than that.  It begins here, in becoming Holy and perfect, as He our God, is Holy and perfect.

Peter writes in verse 17 … “Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.”  Realizing our perfection is the gift He brings to us, the transformation of literally “who” we are, we should remember this world is simply not our home.  We are travelers here.  We are foreigners in a world that prizes self-love.  Their ways, our own former ways, are to become strange to us.  We are citizens of a different kingdom, one born in the heart, where love for others is paramount.  This love for others is born in the heart of our God.  It defines His holiness.  And through His gift of transformation to us, it infects who we are, to the point where we do not understand the ways of those still steeped in the choice to remain blind and chained to self.  We have respect or “fear” that those who remain in darkness have such a desperate need of the light.  But we ourselves, have no desire to remain in darkness.  Instead we embrace the light of His love, and in turn want to reflect His love to those who still remain in the dark.  We are foreigners in a world of sin, missionaries with a mission to reflect His light by how we love others, into a world that yet to understand unselfish love.

Peter continues in verse 18 … “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, [verse 19] but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”  Here Peter reminds the affluent of this world, that our transformation cannot be bought.  We are NOT redeemed because we “buy” our way into his kingdom with great offerings of gold and silver.  God has no use for our money.  When we realize its complete lack of value, we begin to understand that.  Money then becomes a tool in which we can aid the lives of others.  Its only value becomes in how we can use it for anyone other than ourselves.  At that point, a ten percent tithe, becomes ninety percent too little.  At that point, we grasp the concept of the widow’s mite, who having next to nothing, gladly parted with everything she had, with no thought of how difficult her own life would be leaving that temple with literally nothing in her hands.  The wealth offered us by the hard work of our parents is not the birthright we seek.  The blood of Christ offers us a life unburdened by the desire to amass wealth we can spend on ourselves.  We lose interest in the health of our investments, and unburden ourselves from the cares that accompany the rich of money, and instead take up the concerns of the rich in love for others.

Peter reminds his readers that our gift came from a perfect source as he continues in verse 20 saying … “He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. [verse 21] Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.”  Jesus Christ volunteered to save us before we were even created.  Imagine the so great love of God, that knowing in advance that we would choose badly the love of self instead of trust in Him, He would create us anyway.  He loved us so much, He did not prevent our very existence.  But instead loved us before we sinned, loved us after we sinned, and gave up His own life to redeem our lives, so He could love us forever.  We understand the love of the Father, through the life and the love of Jesus Christ.

Peter writes in verse 22 … “Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. [verse 23] For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.”  Here again is the destination we seek and we find.  Here again is what the gospel is all about.  We find obedience, we find the Truth of Jesus Christ, in a deep abiding love in our hearts for one another.  Our rebirth into this way of life, our rebirth into loving like He loves; is not founded on a passing ideology, a specific set of doctrinal interpretations, or flirtation with self-denial based on a strength of will.  It is founded on the enduring WORD of God.  It is founded on Jesus Christ alone.  It is not the texts of the prophets of old, and their interpretation or guidance that can save us.  It is the living God those texts were meant to point us to.  It is not our doctrinal uniqueness, or depth of understanding of the Bible today, that will transform us, it is the Christ, the entirety of scripture points us to that alone can change who we are. 

Our purity and our obedience and our knowledge of Truth (that is of Jesus Christ who is the Truth), are evidenced and made manifest in our deep and abiding love of one another.  The gospel is not based on the truthful condemnation of those who are obviously guilty of the sins we accuse them of.  It is instead based on the redemptive love that would forgive those sins, heal that pain, and embrace that heart, even while it warred against the love that worked to reach it.  The gospel story is not one of punishment for what we deserve.  It is about rewards we do not deserve but receive anyway.  This is the nature of love; willing to die itself, than to see the object of its affection suffer in any way.  Our purity will not be found in the condemnation we heap upon others.  It will be found in our patient love of others when they do NOT deserve that love.  Our obedience will be evidenced as we find ourselves more than willing to forgive the actions of others that deeply hurt us.  We do resent forgiving them; instead we praise the reconciliation that forgiveness is able to accomplish.  Our goal is to see love reign supreme, and we like Christ, are willing to pay any cost to see that happen.

Peter then concludes this portion of his exhortation by reminding us that our current mortality is not what is important as he continues in verse 24 saying … “For, ‘All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, [verse 25] but the word of the Lord endures forever.’ And this is the word that was preached to you.”  Our bodies age and decay in this foreign land.  But the love we reflect will reap a harvest in a life well beyond this mere existence.  The WORD of God endures forever, and the preaching done for his readers, was ever to point them to this WORD.  It is not scripture that Peters ascribes so much praise unto, it is Jesus Christ who embodies the word of God.  The prophets of old have value in that they foretold the love of God that was made manifest in Jesus Christ.  Without the coming of Jesus Christ, the words of the prophets lack the fulfillment and deep meaning found only in Him.  The reality of Jesus Christ however, makes what was foretold in the past, evidence of a God who knows the future, our future.  We can take hope that the destination of perfect obedience, found in perfect love for others, is based in real promises of Jesus Christ who is forever alive in our hearts as we permit Him access.

But the counsel of Peter was only just beginning …