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1 Peter 3:13-18  The Message

^13-18 If with heart and soul you’re doing good, do you think you can be stopped? Even if you suffer for it, you’re still better off. Don’t give the opposition a second thought. Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master. Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you’re living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy. Keep a clear conscience before God so that when people throw mud at you, none of it will stick. They’ll end up realizing that they’re the ones who need a bath. It’s better to suffer for doing good, if that’s what God wants, than to be punished for doing bad. That’s what Christ did definitively: suffered because of others’ sins, the Righteous One for the unrighteous ones. He went through it all—was put to death and then made alive—to bring us to God.

 

For Reflection

 One of the keys to understanding these passages is to understand what Peter means by "doing good." In previous passages, Peter suggests that Christians should speak with one voice.  They should seek peace not division and contention.  Christians should not engage in clever and dishonest means for achieving something.  They should avoid real damage to their neighbors.  Christians should bless their enemies and refrain their tongues from speaking evil. Christians should pursue peace when peace is denied.  Christians should not justify others in their sin, but must do all that justice requires or Christian hospitality commands.

How do the most vocal Christians in today's society measure up to these standards of "goodness?' 

Pray

prayers of thanksgiving for the living God, found in Jesus Christ.   Pray that we all will grow into a common understanding of what it means to follow Christ.  Pray that you will, in all things, express the love that we were shown through Jesus Christ.