Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials.”
NL Daily Devotion for Sunday, July 10, 2022
by Dr. Kimberly Leetch, Clergy Stuff
Main Idea: God acknowledges our suffering, and promises hope that we can live in peace and love.
As a child I learned that the things of God were difficult to come by. A faithful life was one of deprivation, self-control, and constant contrition. I don’t know why we teach our kids that God is like that. I was terrified of making a misstep. I lived in a strange juxtaposition between fear and love of God, and a big fat heap of self-loathing.
On first read, this letter of 1 Peter rings similarly. Yes, you’re suffering now, but it’ll all be better in the end. Yes, you must refrain from enjoying the things of life, but it’ll be worth it when you get to heaven.
I no longer believe God works this way—demanding self-restraint for the prize of salvation. No, the things God asks of us are not for deprivation or flagellation, but are designed to make our lives better, not worse.
The people 1 Peter addressed were already living in fear and danger. 1 Peter’s words of the hope of grace in the days to come would have landed as hope and healing. For us, living in a world of abundance and opportunity, these words sound like a recipe for deprivation. But God’s hope for us (as for 1 Peter’s readers) is that we all survive and thrive through the difficult times so that we can live with gratitude, abundance, and hope. Yes, “all flesh is like grass.” That doesn’t mean our time in the flesh is worthless. It means God wants our time here to be fruitful, even as we move toward an eternal future that is just, peaceful, abundant, and filled with love and the presence of God.