Read: 1 Peter 1:22–2:5
Bible in a Year: Job 20–21; Acts 10:24–48
Rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 1 Peter 2:1
Recently, I switched rooms in the home I rent. This took longer
than expected, because I didn’t want to simply transfer my (extensive)
mess to a new room; I wanted a completely fresh and uncluttered start.
After hours and hours of cleaning and sorting, bags of stuff sat by the
front door to be thrown away, donated, or recycled. But at the end of
this exhausting process was a beautiful room I was excited to spend time
in.
My housecleaning project gave me a fresh perspective when reading 1 Peter 2:1, as paraphrased in The Message:
“So, clean house! Make a clean sweep of malice and pretense, envy, and
hurtful talk.” Interestingly, it’s after a joyful confession of their
new life in Christ (1:1–12) that Peter urges them to throw away
destructive habits (1:13–2:3). When our walk with the Lord feels
cluttered and our love for others feels strained, this shouldn’t cause
us to question our salvation. We don’t change our lives to be saved, but because we are (1:23).
As real as our new life in Christ is, bad
habits learned do not disappear overnight. So, on a daily basis, we need
to “clean house,” throwing away all that prevents us from fully loving
others (1:22) and growing (2:2). Then, in that new, clean space, we can
experience the wonder of being freshly built (v. 5) by Christ’s power
and life.
Heavenly Father, thank You for the new life You are building in us through our Lord Jesus. Help us to daily turn to You for cleansing and renewal.
Every day we can reject destructive habits and experience new life in Jesus.
© 2017 Our Daily Bread Ministries
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