Day 216

Innocent conscience quiets foes 

Key Verses: 1, 4, 7, 8, 15, 18,

Talk about a politically insensitive statement! At least that is the way verses like this get spun, in both directions. Remember that there were no chapter or verse interruptions when this letter was written. They were added in the 1550s to make it easier for us to find particular sections of the Scriptures. So women are to surrender to Christ just like everyone else. If we have surrendered to Him, then surrendering to your husband (just like your husband surrenders to you) should not be difficult. Our behavior needs to model Christ in every area of our lives.

Notice that Peter says the sticking point for most women is that they use words to try to persuade their husbands into the faith. Peter says it should be their behavior that does that. Their inner beauty should shine through, and that will convince their husbands. Husbands have the tendency to be too harsh, too ‘manly’ with their wives. We try to use our strength and power to influence. Peter says we should use our consideration and respect to win them.

I am again struck with the number of times that the writers remind us what the walk of faith looks like in concrete terms. It must have been just as hard back then to figure out how to live faith out day by day as it can be today. And they have given us much food for thought and action. We can ask in every circumstance “What would compassion look like lived out in this?” and get a pretty good idea of the Gospel in action. Doing good is always a good idea.

Knowing what to do starts by putting Christ in the driver’s seat in our lives. He must be in charge. When that happens then our lives should exude hope. And it is the hope that people see when life gets tough. And that hope pulls their questions right out of their chests. They can’t help but ask why we have hope, when they themselves are so devoid of hope. The same thing happened with Jesus. It was His acts of compassion that awakened hope in the hearts of those who witnessed them. When they themselves had given up, Jesus stepped in and did the impossible.

When sin had bested the human race, Jesus came, lived the perfect life, died, and demonstrated His mastery even over death. Death had no rights to Him. He was perfect in His actions. And this reality gives us hope. The battle that we rage with sin can be won. Jesus invites us to join Him in His victory. This victory is symbolized in the act of baptism. We turn the page on our life. Before baptism lies the old self. After baptism the life of faith. It is a choice we make, not a magical waving of the wand. We can look back to our baptism and say, “At that moment I died. Have you died?