Peter the apostle continued
to share with the “scattered” Christians concerning their
behavior among unbelievers. They were to manifest their “manner of
living” “honestly” among the “Gentiles” so
that even if they spoke against them “as evildoers”, they
would by their “good works” “glorify God in the day of
visitation”. In chapter two and verse seventeen of his letter,
Peter told them to “honor, love and fear God” where we
read:
Honor all men.
Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.
The
verse begins, “Honor all men. Love the
brotherhood.” Peter began with
the word, “Honor” which
means “estimate, fix the value, revere and venerate” “all
men” or “each, every, any,
all and the whole of people”. He continued with “Love”
which means “welcome, entertain, be fond of and love dearly” “the
brotherhood” which refers to
“brotherly kindness and family and brothers”. Peter specifically
wrote concerning the “value” Christians are to place upon “all”
people, and they are to “love dearly” the family of Christians
with which God has surrounded them.
The
verse goes on to say, “Fear God. Honor the king.” Peter
added, “Fear” or
“to put to flight by terrifying, scare away, flee and be afraid of”
“God” who is “the
Godhead bodily and trinity which is comprised of God the Father,
Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit”. He went on to write, “Honor”
which means “estimate, fix the value, revere and venerate” “the
king” which refers to the
“leader of the people, prince, commander and lord of the land”.
Not only were they to “honor all men” and “love the
brotherhood”, they were also to “be in awe of and respect”
“God”, and “value and revere” the leader God put in place.
When
we consider these words of Peter, we begin to understand the ways we
are to live before others. We are to “honor”
everyone, and we are to
“love” everyone. We are to
be in awe and respect of “God”, and we are to “honor”
especially the leadership God has put in charge of us. Though these
traits are easy to write and consider, we often find them difficult
to follow. Let us allow the Holy Spirit of God to help us obey these
words, and may others who do not believe in Jesus Christ know we are
Christians because we do.
Next
time Peter shares how “servants”
are to be toward their “masters”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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