"Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God." (1 Peter 4:1, 2)
As I studied 1 Peter 4 this past week the Lord encouraged me in a crazy way and gave me a Word of Revelation and Wisdom that I couldn't keep to myself. I hope this blesses you. May the words I type and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to You O Lord, our Redeemer.
All through chapter 4 of 1 Peter, Peter talks about using our gifts to serve one another, our sufferings to serve one another, and our lives to glorify God. Amen to that! But the first verse is what gets me. Where it says "Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking."
How did Christ think? What did Christ think about?
The whole time Jesus was on this earth He was focused on ONE thing. To do the will of the Father. What is the will of the Father?
For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. (John 6:40)
The will of the Father is Reconciliation. The whole reason why Jesus came to this earth was to bring me back into relationship with the Father. The whole reason Jesus came to this earth was to bring you back into relationship with the Father. The whole reason Jesus came to this earth was so that we could go back to the beginning with God. Back to the Garden of Eden, walking in perfect harmony with Him in loving relationship.
To reconcile means to bring peace, harmony, to get rid of anything in the way. When Jesus died on the cross, He paid it all! He brought peace between us and the Father. He took care of sin once and for all, being the perfect sacrifice, being the perfect blood sacrifice.
So in every situation we are in. In every season, with every gift we have, in any suffering - we are to have the same mind as Christ - the will of the Father. We are to use every circumstance and every gift as an opportunity for reconciliation. That is why we were made Beloved! That is why we were saved Beloved! To bring others into the reconciled relationship with the Creator!
I am constantly in awe that I have already heard the Gospel. I have already heard the Good News of Jesus Christ! There are so many people who don't know it! Who haven't experienced it! How can I not extend that to others? How can I stand around and watch people literally die around me? I have Life! I can give Life! What a blessing to partner with the Shepherd! It blows my mind!
May we be people who always have our eyes set on the will of the Father! On the ministry of reconciliation. May we be people who use every situation or gift or struggle to bring reconciliation. May we be a generation that shows the Love of the Father and His desire to be in relationship with His children. May we be good ambassadors of the Gospel, may we not take His blood for granted. Let's go church! Let's press into the ministry of reconciliation!
"For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
2 Corinthians 5:14-21
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