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⁸ Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. ⁹ Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. ¹⁰ For,

In these verses Peter describes, and calls Christians to,‘the good life’. It is one in which we love others; where we seek to do them good, even though they may treat us bad. It’s about ‘’blessing’’ others (and consequently being blessed by God).

In the ‘Sermon on the mount’ Jesus taught: ‘’Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven’’ (Matthew 5:44,45b).

In the previous section we saw the importance of prayer at the heart of marriage (7). It struck me just the other day that this is its ‘next door neighbour’ passage, and it too has prayer at its heart (12). If we would live the good life, as it is described here (and see how different it looks to the world’s definition. Some of you will remember the ‘Martini’ adverts from a few years ago!), then we can only do it prayerfully. Prayer is the ‘engine room’ of the Christian life.

‘Little prayer, little power; some prayer, some power; much prayer, much power.’

PRAYER: Lord, teach us to pray.

^“8 Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.” NIV

It’s interesting that among the various words used in this verse to call believers to loving harmony, there is also mention of humility.

Humility is good soil in which so many other lovely graces will bloom. It is absolutely essential for peaceful relationships in the home, in the church…in fact anywhere! Pride is utterly destructive of human concord.

I find that when I feel hurt; when I think I’ve been badly done to or mistreated; if I take a long hard, honest look in the mirror, I usually see a lot of pride in the reflection. I think that for some reason I deserve better. Why do my thoughts travel in that direction? Because I think I’m more important than I am. What is that? Well, being quite clinical, it begins with ‘p’ and ends in ‘e’ and has ‘rid’ in the middle.

Towards the end of this letter Peter is to write:

‘’All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,

“God opposes the proud
    but shows favor to the humble.”^[

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.’’ (5:5b,6).

Remember God’s law of gravity: What goes down must come up! (See Philippians 2:1-11).

PRAYER: Lord, you call us to, in humility, consider others better than ourselves; to look not only to own interests but also to theirs. Lord you know me better than I know myself, and you know why I say to you, I’m going to need help with this. Even as I ask for your strength, I know it is already given, and I thank you.

⁸ Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. ⁹ Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.” NIV

^‘’Summing up: Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless—that’s your job, to bless. You’ll be a blessing and also get a blessing.’’ The Message.

I appreciate that some who read these notes will be living alone. My heart goes out to you, especially if you’re finding it extra hard at the moment. But these words do apply to you, and you will be given many challenging opportunities in life to practice this teaching with people who live beyond your four walls:

‘’That goes for all, no exceptions’’.

 Nevertheless, please will you bear with me while I say a word to couples and families? It’s just this: that the behaviour Peter advocates is not merely a recipe for harmony in the local church. It starts at home, and arguably that may be (at least for some) the most difficult place to do this. These days of ‘lock-down’ could well have compounded the problems. But remember, in the early church, many Christian congregations would be located in homes, and made up of extended families. This teaching very much applies to home life.

But, thankfully, Peter does not envisage anyone having to live this way under their own steam – as we shall see.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I once heard that home is ‘the place where we are treated the best, and behave the worst.’ I pray this will not be true of my home, but with your help, let it be a place of harmony, peace and true Christian fellowship.

^“8 Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.” NIV

In a number of places in the New Testament, Christians are exhorted to do a whole variety of things for ‘’one another’’. Here is one of those passages.

I heard the leader of a growing church speak at an event towards the end of last year. He said, ‘’In our fellowship we speak about ‘pastoral share’ rather than ‘pastoral care’.’’ There was a clear expectation from him that the members of the church would look after ‘’one another’’

Now I wish to be understood. I believe in the pastoral gift. I count it a privilege to be a pastor. But the old idea of a ‘One man band’ who does everything is outmoded and should never have been in vogue. In the church, one or two may have a pastoral gift, but everyone should be involved in pastoral care. It is the calling of the whole church.

Especially in this long, drawn-out season, where we can’t be in the same room, we need to think prayerfully and creatively about how we carry on the ‘one anothering’ ministry.

PRAYER: Lord, it is a blessing beyond words to know you, and to be part of your church. Please show me the role you want me to play in serving others.

“Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behaviour of their wives, ² when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. ³ Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewellery or fine clothes. ⁴ Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. ⁵ For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, ⁶ like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.” NIV

In the central section of 1 Peter, which runs from 2:13-3:7, there is an over-arching theme of submission in relationships – relationships to the state, in the workplace and at home. Going hand-in-hand with this, we find a repeated emphasis on the power of goodness.

Not long after I went to Bible College, I heard the testimony of Graham and Treena Kerr, when they spoke one Sunday evening at Guildford Baptist church. At one time, Graham was quite a celebrity, famous for his television cooking show, ‘the Galloping Gourmet.’ But behind the scenes, domestic life was a train-wreck. Their marriage was falling apart. Then something happened to Treena. She became a Christian. As I recall their story, she didn’t preach to her husband. She simply prayed for her him and quietly lived a Christian life. He noticed the difference, and this caused him to seek Christ for himself. He too was converted, and their marriage transformed.

Today, what is regarded as beautiful by many, often looks plastic. There is a cosmetic beauty that is stuck on from the outside. But true beauty flows outwards from the inside (4), and, what is more, age cannot wither it. I don’t think we are to understand Peter as saying that jewellery or make-up or nice clothes should never be worn. But he does want us to understand that these things do not make a person truly beautiful.

Although the direct application here is to wives, I remember that Jesus said, ‘’I am the good shepherd’’ (John 10:11). I understand that the word translated ‘’good’’ can mean ‘beautiful’. There is a beauty about Jesus, and it will be reflected in all who are being changed into His likeness, whether male or female.

PRAYER: ‘Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me.’

^“18 Slaves, in reverent fear of God submit yourselves to your masters, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. ¹⁹ For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God.” NIV

We are in a section of 1 Peter which is all about submission ‘’for the Lord’s sake to every authority’’ (2:13). In verses 18-25, Peter moves from a citizen’s relationship to the divinely instituted government, to a slave’s relationship to his master. There may be much here, therefore, that we can’t relate to.

However, I felt the need to press the pause button at verse 19, because there is ‘’suffering’’ in the current circumstances. In a lot of cases, it is suffering with a very small ‘s’. But for many people, the suffering is sadly coming with a big fat capital ‘S’. I wouldn’t be surprised if lots of cries are rising up from all corners of the globe saying, ‘It’s not fair!’ What’s happening seems unjust. But there is a way to handle such a situation. It is this: to be aware of God; to live moment by moment with the consciousness of God’s presence. There are hardships we can face with faith and prayer that we could not endure any other way. Knowing God makes all the difference.

PRAYER: Lord, I have found that knowing you does not remove the difficulties from life, but it does make it possible to come through all kinds of struggles with a heart in tact. Thank you for your grace towards me. We pray today for all who are feeling any form of suffering, that they may be conscious of God.