![]() First Peter 4:7-14 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. 8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. ________________________________________________________________________________ Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia! “The end of all things is at hand,” Saint Peter reminds us. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ has fundamentally changed the world. The finality of death, the ultimate wage of sin, has been broken. The tomb has been split wide open along with the Holy of Holies. It is truly “the end of the world as we know it.” More than this, the Ascension of Jesus to the right hand of the Father means that the power and mercy of God are ever present with us. We live under the dominion of the True and Good King. The former “ruler” of this world has been deposed. (John 12:31) Because the end is at hand, because the world is fundamentally changed, because Jesus rules over everything for our good, Peter instructs that we should live differently. This knowledge of the fact of Jesus’ resurrection should alter the way we go about our day-to-day business. First, we should be disciplined in body and mind. “Be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.” (First Peter 4:7) Prayer takes discipline, especially in a Tik-Tok world where attention spans are cut in half with each passing day. To call upon the name of God “in every trouble, pray, praise, and [thanksgiving]” means having the discipline to sit with your thoughts for an extended period of time both praising the Lord for what He has done and asking Him to continue as He has promised. We practice prayer because we remember that we are speaking to the risen and ascended Christ. We ask of our King, who has promised to hear us. Discipline is another word for “training” or “practice.” This is a helpful way to think about it. We are practicing here for the “eternal weight of glory.” (Second Corinthians 4:17) We won’t get it perfect, and when we fail we should repent and receive the forgiveness of our sin. Practice won’t make us perfect. Only the grace of God in Christ can do that. That does not mean, however, that we give up. We keep going because there will come a day when all this practice will be converted by God’s grace into reality. We can apply this same discipline and practice to brotherly love and hospitality. Hospitable love should not be difficult for the citizens of the Kingdom of God. The love of God brought us into His royal family when we were formerly enemies and outsiders. How much more should we practice bringing others into our homes and churches, showing them the same undeserved mercy? Discipline also applies to being good stewards of God’s gifts of grace. The Lord showers us with buckets full of grace and mercy. All that we need and all that we have is a gift from the divine hand of the One who rules over all. So we are neither wasteful nor stingy with these gifts. We do not cast them away. We do not hoard them for ourselves. Again, this takes practice. It takes training. All of this leads to God’s glory. The Lord is glorified when the sons of God believe in and live like the Son of God, their True and Good King. The world sees your good deeds and gives glory to your Father. (Matthew 5:16) We will rise again at the return of Jesus Christ. Death has lost its power, so we are to live our lives training to live eternally as God’s people, as “little Christs.” This short life is serious practice for the life of the world to come. So let’s get going. Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!
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January 2025
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