1 Peter 1:22-2:3
Everything around us ultimately withers. My grandmother’s used to be full of life, love, purpose, where Grandpa would sit in the office and do his bible study, she would unhurriedly cook in the small kitchen, and the day’s needs were managed and discussed on the most basic level. With no internet or cell service in the region, all there was to do was simply right in front of your face. It’s not like that anymore. Amazon deliveries flooded the driveway, homes were reformatting the shape of the hill, and her house was sinking back into the land that it once presided over. Don’t get me wrong – life was flourishing and joy was in abundance – the land of my memories hasn’t been destroyed, but it has changed, and for many good reasons. It was a wonderful vacation. But the land has changed. What I experienced as a kid, I could only show to my children in shadow.
Last week, we discussed how the legacy of those past has given us so much in our faith today. We’ve seen many beautiful examples lately. Time marches on though and it is now our turn to take the baton and run: for a little bit. Peter is reminding his readers about the brevity of their turn and now it’s ours.
We Are but Withering Grass
It might be better communicated by Bob Ross in mid-picture form, but there is a beauty to the structure of this passage that I wish I could paint for you. Some early letter commands are offered here by Peter, but before we explore those, the middle is a key to unlocking the heart behind those commands; a quote from Isaiah 40. Isaiah 40 comes at a major turning point in the book of Isaiah, as the theme shifts from judgment to hope. Ch40 begins with the repeated wash of comfort over the people of Israel and ends with the promise that God will lift them and carry them. The comfort offered in v6-8 is the comfort that this pain and sin and brokenness is temporary. We are grass. Yes that also means we are temporary, destined to be born and to die, just like a home that was once filled with life and love is now empty and slowly returning to the very earth over which it used to preside. These are sad things, but they are also good things. My grandparents, along the others that impacted us throughout our lives have returned to dust. What would make this truly tragic is if they had only lived for themselves, for their time. But these people, in their faith, knew their lives were destined to pass the torch to the next generation. Someone passed you the torch of faith and you are or will pass it on to someone else (or many others). We are temporary, but the torch – Jesus – is eternal. He is forever. He is life. So, while sin breaks things down and leaves us with decay and a return to dust, the word of God (Jesus) stands forever. Life stands forever. Love stands Forever. Be comforted that we are not stuck eternally in our sin but can rest in the Divine Good forever.
Life is About Passing the Torch
The Jewish Christians of Peter’s day (the ones on the run from persecution) would take great comfort in the idea of accepting their temporary-ness. Knowing that God is eternal and will provide for eternity, the life of any specific individual becomes measured not it their survival-ability, but in their willingness to help the next person take the next step. We live in the Information Age which could never have occurred without the advantages gained in the Bronze Age, or the Classical Era. Human maturity, spiritual maturity, and Peter’s text here show us that as we mature and grow up, we realize the advantage in being a good torch-passer instead of hogging it ourselves. Don’t treat people as underneath you and live a life of brotherly love from a pure heart. You have eternity from God, so don’t worry about your life now, but live to help others from the grace you’ve been given. Remove malice and deceit and selfishness, instead see our Christian walk as the reality embodied by the Olympic torch marathon.
Next Steps
Be the bridge that connects your faith lineage to your legacy. Be the comforting middle that brings relief and hope to the people in this world currently maturing and growing.
- Invest in your legacy of faith by engaging in discipleship (all three areas of education, practice, and living life together in community with other Christians)
- Do something good for someone who can’t return the favor
- Seek maturity in your spiritual development – choose to go beyond surface level faith and give your life over to a much bigger God
My grandpa died a few months before I got married. My wife never got to meet him. He was a simple man who spent most of his time out in his wood shed wearing jeans and a white t-shirt with suspenders and never could break his chewing habit. But more than those distinctly human memories, there was his absolute love of deep, intense, word studies in scripture. He would spend days working through a single verse, studying each word in all its richness and be awed day in and day out by the detail and care that God put into His revelation to us. I only hope I can pass on a love of God and His Word that is so pure. I’ve been given a good lineage and it’s now my turn to craft that into a legacy. How’s that going for you?
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