Resilient: Powerful Hope in a Dangerous WorldSample

Do you ever joke that you wish kids or life came with a manual? I have and still think it would be super nice! 1 Peter gives us a little taste of a “manual” for us to live a good life. It’s just not what we’d think.

In 1 Peter 3, Peter instructs husbands and wives on how to treat one another. Then in verse 8, he says, “all of you.” This next section is for all of us who are following Jesus. No one is excluded. He lays out some values we should live out in our lives.

The first, have unity of mind. When we are part of the body of Christ, we have one mission. We should be unified in glorifying God and making His name great. As believers, we’re all on the same team; we can be unified.

He then tells us to have sympathy, brotherly love, and a tender heart. Believers should love each other. If we love, we experience sympathy toward each other and toward others. Having a tender heart allows us to be sympathetic and loving. If our heart is hard, we will be easily annoyed and focused on our independence. We have such beautiful examples in the Bible of followers of Jesus giving everything they have out of love for others and Jesus.

Lastly, a humble mind. This one is tough for me because humility is not something we are super comfortable with within our culture. We try to look like we know it all and do not need anyone or anything. A humble mind goes back to the source, the Word of God, to shape our thoughts and our views. We allow God to form our minds instead of our pride. Someone with a humble mind is also open to trusted Christian communities. We allow our friends following Jesus to show us our areas where we need to trust God more or look more like Him.

Peter tells us what not to do as well. In 1 Peter 3:9, “Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling.” Have you had someone hurl an insult at you? How easy is it to just hurl one right back? In fact, in the world’s eyes, we are considered weak if we do not do that. When someone is gossiping, it is so easy just to join right in. But these things, and more, are just what Peter is telling us to avoid. He does not just tell us what to avoid but also what to do. Bless. How wild is that? Peter tells us that when others act with evil and reviling, we are to bless them. When others hurl insults at us, we bless them. We encourage them instead of insulting them. Peter tells us when we live this out, we are blessed.

Our blessing is Jesus. We get Jesus! He is the biggest blessing of all. We get life with Him; He provides the courage and strength to act with sympathy, love, unity, and tenderness. He gives us the self-control not to repay evil for evil. Our life with Jesus is not contingent on us acting a certain way but is a gift we are given. The gift of life with Jesus is the greatest blessing.

Reflection Questions

1. Which of these areas is the hardest for you to live out? Which is the easiest?
2. Have you ever responded to someone in love when meanness was expected? How did that feel?
3. How do you respond to correction from your community?