SHOWING UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

Right now, many Christians are in panic mode. People who have testified all their lives that God is their keeper are now scrambling in fear as the storm clouds gather over us. Peter has something very simple to say to them, “Bring all your natural feelings under the control of faith.”

Next, Peter tells us to bring everything to God in prayer: “Watch unto prayer” (1 Peter 4:7). Only by seeking the Lord will we be able to control our anxieties about the times. According to Peter, the blacker things become the more we should walk in the peace and rest of the Holy Spirit.

AVOIDING PANIC MODE

Right now the secular world is desperate to find calm in the chaos. According to The Wall Street Journal, corporate leaders and others in high-stress jobs are turning to yoga, mantras, Chinese chants, meditation. But as Christians, our God promises to keep us in perfect peace if we will fix our minds on Christ above anything happening in the world.

Peter tells us we should be concerned with one thing above all others in these times. Let’s look at the final exhortation of this dying apostle:

“Above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8).

REACH OUT WITH MERCY

Peter’s summation is, “If you want to know what survival is all about — how God is leading His people through these times — then show unconditional love to your brothers and sisters. That has everything to do with the future of the Church of Christ.”

According to Peter, here is our most important concern. In light of the great mercy God has shown each of us — in light of His unconditional forgiveness toward our past sins, His compassionate longsuffering toward us — we are to reach out with mercy to those who have sinned against us. And we are to forgive them as if they had never committed those sins.