DAY 20
BIBLE READING: 1 Peter 2: 20-25
'It's hard to be blamed for something I didn't do.' How many times have you heard somebody say that? Most people will accept a rebuke when they know they are wrong. But it takes a lot of Christian grace to accept undeserved blame for something you know you did not do or say.
'Suffering' in these verses doesn't necessarily mean sickness or physical pain. It includes being misunderstood, being rejected, losing friends or other similar testings. All of these things come to us from time to time in our ordinary Christian experience.
Peter reminds us that this was how Christ suffered. He left us an example to follow. Did your teacher in school ever write a sentence on the board or in your book and then tell you to copy it? That is what the word 'example' means here - to copy that which has already been given to us.
It took real effort to copy that example at school, didn't it? But you improved as you did it over and over. So it is with Christ and ourselves. None of us are instantly perfect in our conduct, but our aim should be to grow more like Christ from day to day.
People said about Christ (in John 7) 'He has a devil'. His reply was, 'If any man thirst let him come unto me and drink'.
Judas betrayed him. Christ's reply was to call him friend. Peter denied him. Christ sought him out and forgave him. The soldiers crucified him. His reply was 'Father forgive them'.
This is the kind of life that God wants to see in us. Let us ask him to help us live that life today. It is the life of Christ. He lives within us and will live through us if we will allow him.
沒有留言:
張貼留言