Not Perfect, Just Perfectly Forgiven // 1 Peter 3:15
Today’s verse is a good one for us to remember. People who do not understand true Christian hope will use the gunk in the world as evidence to support the devil’s lies that God either isn’t real or doesn’t care. Banish those thoughts! What we all need to do is think through the times and ways God has shown up and shown out for us in the past. Yes, it’s all mysterious, but our Divine Engineer is constantly working out all things for salvation. I think it’s a good idea to review Romans 8:28-29 here, because it speaks to how we can embrace the highs and lows of life: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” This verse does not say that all things are good, but it does say God works them to good for those who are called according to His purpose. What is that purpose you might ask? It’s to make His love known and desire for all to be saved thanks to the sacrifice of Jesus. This brings us right back to our verse for the day. Peter would definitely say his denial of Jesus was not good, but a lot of good came of it. He received Jesus’ forgiveness and a call to make the Lord’s love known to all the world. Peter was therefore able to point to his own failure as a way to say nothing disqualifies us from God’s saving grace when we turn to Him. Maybe that’s the message you need to hear today amidst this season of hope. There is always hope, regardless of where you’ve been, what you’ve said, what you’ve done, and of course for those places you didn’t go, words you didn’t say, and things you didn’t do when God needed you to. There is hope, friends, so be ready to share you own story — faults and all — about why you have the hope in Christ that you do. The world thinks we need to be perfect to follow Jesus, but the message everyone needs is we don’t need to be perfect, just perfectly forgiven. In Jesus you are! Everyone always!
