live as servants of God

Posted : 14 Jun, 2012 02:12 AM

Bible Reading:



1 Peter 2:13�17



Bible Text:



Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God (1 Pet. 2:16).



Devotional:



God tells his people how to live in the present world. First, we must know that our lives are battlefields of the war between evil desires and the redeeming power. Abstain from evil, God teIls us. Let your good works witness to the grace of God.



Then God instructs us about the relationship between authority and obedience. Many of the Christians addressed in Peter's first letter were slaves. They were the property of other people. They could be kept, chained, beaten, and sold. Slaves who became Christians needed a good deal of Christian maturity to handle their new situation, for they were now free in Christ. They had no master other than their Lord. Yet part of their responsible use of freedom was to submit voluntarily to their temporary owners.



"Live as free men," Peter wrote. All Christians should live as free women and free men. All of us are inclined to pay too much attention to what others say. We are too susceptible to both criticism and flattery. Neither the abrasion of criticism nor the suction of flattery should cause us to lose our freedom. Our behavior does not depend on what others say.



At the same time, we may never be self-assertive about our freedom, for we are the servants of Christ. No human is our lord, but we should always be ready to serve anyone because Christ is our master.



by the Rev. Andrew Kuyvenhoven

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