The Journal of an Honest Mom

Some thoughts from 1 Peter 2, brought to you by a baby monitor, a stuffed Elmo, and the yellow crayon I apparently use as a highlighter now!
I have been studying 1 Peter and taking notes as I go. Nothing fancy. Just writing down things that stand out, cross references, and thoughts I want to remember.
So, some thoughts from today:
“If indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.” – 1 Peter 2:3
I really like the word tasted here. Once we have had a “taste” of the goodness of God, we should long for the spiritual milk mentioned in verse 2, God’s word. We’ve already experienced His goodness. Why wouldn’t we want more?
“As you come to Him…” – 1 Peter 2:4
As you come.
That stood out to me because it isn’t describing a relationship with Christ as something that happened once and we’re done. We continue coming to Him. Daily. Personally.
And as we do, He is building us into a spiritual house, with Jesus as the living stone, the foundation everything else is built on.
We are supposed to look different.
Starting around verse 11, Peter talks about Christians living as strangers or exiles in the world.
The world may reject our message, but our lives should still bear witness to it.
Which leads directly into something else that caught my attention:
Our sinful desires “wage war against the soul.” – 1 Peter 2:11
Wage war.
Not mildly inconvenience us.
That’s some pretty serious language for things I think we can sometimes treat pretty casually.
Holding onto sinful desires isn’t harmless. There is a spiritual battle happening, and Peter tells Christians to abstain from those desires and live honorably among the people around them.
Then Peter starts talking about suffering.
And this is where I really started thinking.
Peter points to Jesus as our example. Christ suffered despite doing nothing wrong.
Verse 23 says:
“When he was insulted, he did not insult in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten but entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.”
That is so opposite of our natural response.
When someone treats us unfairly, we want to defend ourselves. Correct them. Retaliate. Make sure they know exactly how wrong they are.
Jesus entrusted Himself to God.
He knew God was just.
And His death is supposed to change the way we live.
Verse 24 says Jesus bore our sins so that we might “die to sins and live for righteousness.”
We don’t just believe that Jesus died for us and then continue exactly as we were.
His sacrifice should change us.
And then, while thinking about all of this, I finally connected some dots that have apparently been sitting right in front of me.
Peter is writing this.
Peter.
The man who told Jesus he was ready to go to prison and even die with Him.
And then denied knowing Him three times when things got scary.
That Peter is now writing to Christians about suffering faithfully.
And it gets better.
Before Peter ever denied Him, Jesus told him:
“But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And you, when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” – Luke 22:32
When you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.
Well…
Look at him.
That’s exactly what he’s doing.
Peter failed. He turned back. Jesus restored him.
And now he’s strengthening his brothers.
He’s telling Christians how to live in a world that doesn’t accept them. He’s pointing them toward Jesus’ example. He’s telling them not to retaliate when they suffer unjustly, but to entrust themselves to God.
And suffering doesn’t stop being a theme after chapter 2.
Peter keeps coming back to it throughout the letter.
Which made me remember something else.
After His resurrection, Jesus told Peter that one day Peter would be taken where he didn’t want to go. John tells us that Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God (John 21:18–19).
And then Jesus tells him:
“Follow me.”
Peter knew suffering was coming.
I want to be careful not to say more than Scripture says. The Bible doesn’t tell us that God taught Peter these things specifically to prepare him for his eventual death.
But knowing Peter’s story makes his words about suffering hit a little differently.
This is the man who once thought he was ready to suffer for Jesus.
He wasn’t.
He still had some growing to do.
And now, years later, he’s teaching other Christians how to suffer faithfully by pointing them back to Christ.
Peter didn’t just have to learn that Christians suffer. He had to learn how a Christian suffers.
And apparently I needed several readings of these passages before I realized any of this.
Anyway.
Those are some thoughts from 1 Peter.
Courtesy of me, my Bible, and one very hardworking yellow Crayola crayon.