READ: 1Peter 4
BACKGROUND: No matter what our situation in life, we should serve and love others and trust in God.
By Verse:
1 – Jesus is our perfect example of how to live and what attitude we should have.
6 – Those who are dead is specifically referring to deceased Christians here.
8 – Love covers a multitude of sins doesn’t mean that love makes up for them or makes them okay, but rather that love forgives over and over and over again.
15-16 – Peter is saying that we may suffer for our faith and that’s okay. But we should be careful that we don’t suffer in this life because of our sin.
THINK: Have you ever been driving on the interstate and found yourself stuck behind two semis that are taking up both lanes of traffic and going really slow? My guess is that even asking that question brings about feelings of frustration and rage in most of us as we mutter to ourselves, “I hate that!” It can be really irritating to drive when the road is crowded with other vehicles, particularly semis because they don’t usually travel as fast as the rest of us. But recently, while feeling frustrated by some slow-moving semis, a thought occurred to me: I am so thankful for what they accomplish! Semis are loaded up with all kinds of products that we need to use on a daily basis. Everything from our clothes to our food to our gasoline arrives via semi. And the men and women who drive the semis have a very simple mission. They must deliver the product. They are responsible for taking care of something that doesn’t belong to them and delivering to others. They are stewards of our shampoo, t-shirts, bananas, chairs, and more.
As believers, we are stewards of the grace of God and of the gospel message that he loved the world so much that he came to die for it. We have all been called to deliver this product to our world. And each of us has been uniquely designed and gifted with special abilities that God wants us to use as a blessing to those around us. He has entrusted us with the talents we have so that we might use them to show his love and grace to everyone we meet. It’s so easy to forget this or ignore it and use our gifts for selfish purposes. But God is calling us to look at life through a different lens. He is calling us to do everything we do for his glory – to see ourselves as stewards of his grace – so that the world might see him through us.
ASK: Have I been a good steward of God’s grace and of the gospel message? What are some specific ways in which I can use my gifts to serve others so that they might see God shining through me?
PRAY: Ask God for forgiveness for all of the times you’ve used the gifts he gave you to serve yourself rather than serving the world. Ask him to open up doors so that you might be able to use your unique wiring to bless other people and point them towards him.
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