And above all things
have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of
sins. Use hospitality one to another without grudging. As every man hath
received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards
of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of
God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God
giveth: that God in all things may be
glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and
ever. Amen.
As I read Scripture, Peter comes across as an “all-in” kinda
guy. We see this when Jesus mentions that His disciples will fall away, and
Peter emphatically says, “Forget about
all the other guys, I would die for you, Jesus.” In the garden, when the temple
guards come to take Jesus into custody, Peter is the one who pulls a sword to
protect Jesus. When Jesus comes walking on the water, it is Peter who literally
goes overboard to walk on the water with Jesus. Based upon his enthusiasm in
Scripture, I think if Peter were a modern day sports fan, he would be the
shirtless guy with his chest, face and hair painted the colors of his team. He
would have the foam finger, megaphone, and air-horn. He would be “that guy.”
So, in verse 8, Peter tells his readers that “above all things,” they should
have “fervent charity.” My mind goes straight to tackle football. Peter is
admonishing his disciples to literally have “full-contact charity.” We don’t
need any “two-hand-touch” charity. We need “body-parallel-to-the-ground”-tackle
charity. He is telling us that we should be crazy about the way we love those
around us for Christ. It isn’t good enough that we have kind thoughts. I think
that Peter is telling us that as Christians we should be the most-intensely
loving people that exist. Our very actions should be dripping with care and
concern for the souls around us. Every opportunity we have to point people
towards their greater satisfaction in Jesus should be leapt at. With the
intensity of a cheek-painted, fourth quarter, linebacker we should be actively,
constantly sweating and striving to love others, and to love them towards Jesus.
Food For Thought: What phrase of intensity did
Peter use today? In what ways can you do this in the following areas: home,
school, work, sports, in the hood?
No comments:
Post a Comment