◄ What Does 1 Peter 3:8 Mean? ►

Peter set out to console Christians in their sufferings and to call believers to godly, submissive living. After his long treaties on our call to be holy, the need to submit to authority, the different role of family members, and a section on Christ's example of patient endurance in suffering, Peter finally begins to sum up his epistle with a series of short, simple statements on living a submissive Christian life.

What a difference it would be if the Church of Christ were to follow Peter's directives in our day and age. He calls us to be of one mind, to have unity of spirit in the bond of peace, to hold fast together our faith in Christ Jesus and the gospel of grace, and to live in harmony one with the other. He calls us to sympathize with each other, to have compassion one for another, and to empathise in the trials and difficulties that our brothers and sisters in Christ are going through, to be there to help and to comfort, to support and encourage.

He even condenses this into the simplicity of love the brethren. At a time when the love of many is growing ever colder and darker, we are called upon to love our Christian brothers and sisters in Christ, to care and to pray for them to love one another in the same way that Christ loved us. And he also calls us to be tender-hearted and to have a humble attitude. 

In a selfish world that is becoming increasingly hostile towards the things of God, is this not what our Lord Jesus Christ expects from each one of us; to show pity to those who are lost and hurting, to render Christian courtesy and compassion on all with whom we come in contact, to be tender-hearted and to be full of grace and truth, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ?

Surely, if we were to apply this call of the apostle, to be like-minded and sympathetic, to love our fellow believers, and to be compassionate in humility of heart, we would be following our Lord's command to: "Love as I have loved you, for by this shall all men know that you are My disciples."

Loving Lord, how I desire to apply this gentle spirit of compassion, humility, and love into my life so that I may be an example of a godly believer and give glory to Your holy name. Help me to apply this in my life. In Jesus' name, AMEN.