Wednesday, January 18, 2006
1 Peter 1:13-16 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy."
THEREFORE
In 1 Peter 1:1-12 the apostle thanked God for the great gift of eternal salvation. Salvation won through the blood of Christ, salvation made certain by Christ's resurrection from the dead, salvation reserved in heaven for us sinners who have been brought to faith in Christ, salvation that gives us joy even in the midst of earthly trials.
What God has done for us in Christ makes a difference in our attitude and behavior. Once we know what Christ has done for us, we cannot think the way we thought before; we cannot live the same way we lived before.
"Therefore," Peter says, this is the way you should think and live. First of all, you should look forward to the blessings of the Last Day. "Rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." You have a goal; your goal is eternal life. When Jesus returns at the end of time, you will enjoy reaching this goal. But even now it is the basis for all your thinking.
Think of it as a long trip you have to make. You know your goal, and you know how to get there. But you can't sit around waiting for it to happen. You have to gird up your loins and get going. In those days the long robes could get in your way and trip you up if you were doing serious walking. A traveler had to pull up his robe and tighten his belt so that he could make good progress. So also we, as travelers on the road of life heading for heaven, need to gird up the loins of our mind. We need to be determined to go ahead. We need to be serious about making this trip. The stakes are high. Eternal life is the goal. We can't just drift along and slide by. No, we need to get with the program, as outlined by our Lord and Savior. He will see us through to the finish, and we need to have His promise of blessing in our minds at all times. Otherwise we are sure to get bogged down or misled or even taken captive by the many spiritual enemies that are trying to bring us down.
