“Therefore prepare your minds for action; discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed. Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance. Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; for it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’”
1 Peter 1:13-16 (NRSV)
Ralph
Waldo Emerson shared in a lecture, “We plant trees, we build stone houses, we
redeem the waste, we make prospective laws, we found colleges and hospitals,
for remote generations. We should be mortified to learn that the little benefit
we chanced in our own person to receive was the utmost they would yield.”[i]
Emerson decried the tendency of people to live below their true capacity – to
chance little of their enormous potential. The life they make for themselves is
not what it could be, not what it should to be. Living below the capacity available
to them, they should not experience surprise that what they receive in return
is little. In fact, such people should be “mortified.”
This is
Peter’s concern for the one who follows Christ: “Therefore prepare your minds
for action; discipline yourselves.” The encouragement from Peter is that the
Christian strive forward, stretching personal ability and gifts for maximum
benefit. The “hope” Peter speaks of is not wishful thinking. Rather, it is
certain expectation, which follows personal effort – expectation lodged firmly
in the promises of Jesus. Careful preparation of the mind, that is, clear and focused
thought, is demanded followed by intentional participation in God’s work in the
world. Discipline will be required less the Christian once again is conformed
to former ways that are largely unproductive.
Success
in any organization is determined by the quality of organization and effort.
Similarly, the success or failure of a person depends on the way he or she
manages himself or herself. We all produce things, behaviors, and attitudes
that reflect our management, or lack of discipline and personal management. As
such, we should gauge the quality and the importance of who we are becoming in
each area of our lives – our personal growth, relational growth with family,
friends, and colleagues, professional contribution, and spiritual growth. Without determined, intentional action, we
ease back into ordinariness.
Peter
asks that we claim our identity as God’s chosen people. Accordingly, God’s people
are to live “holy” lives – that is, we are to separate ourselves from
ordinariness and live distinctly as those who follow Jesus Christ. “Holy” does
not presume that we will live perfectly, without stumbles, difficulty, and
occasional rebellion and disobedience to God. It does suggest that when we
stumble, it matters to us, that we expect more from ourselves, and rise and
struggle forward in obedience once again. It is the intention of the heart that
leads believers to behave in ways that seem strange to those who have not
answered the call to be “holy” – to live into an extraordinary life as God
desires for us.
[i]
Ralph Waldo Emerson, “The Young American”, Emerson:
Essays and Lectures (New York, N.Y.: The Library of America, 1983) 219.
No comments:
Post a Comment