nothing to fear

1 Peter 3:¹³ And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good?

 

Some people seem to think that Christianity is illogical...the result of some irrational need certain people have for a supreme being.  But when you consider words like we read above, from the apostle Peter, we see some of the compelling logic that underpins our faith.   It just makes common sense that good things should be the outcome of doing good things.  Of course, even short passages in the Bible can reveal more as we consider them a little closer.  Does the verse say that no harm will come to those who do good?....Well, we see in the very next verse that doing good can still lead to suffering:

 

 1 Peter 3:¹⁴ But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you are blessed.

 

Putting the two verses together we see that although it may be logical to expect only good things to happen when we do good things, there is something upside down in our world and we actually may suffer for doing the good things.  But isn't it remarkable that even if we suffer for doing good, there is another outcome as well...there is a promise of being blessed in the midst of suffering.  Well this certainly points out that there are different levels of living...one level that seeks only to avoid suffering at any cost and another level that rewards and honors those who put "doing good", or following and serving God at the top of their priority list.  I think that there is only one way that this second kind of living is possible: we must have had a real encounter with the One who defines what good really means.  Of course He is the Lord...the only one who can make sense of the irrational world we are surrounded with every day.

 

blessings (with gratitude and birthday greetings to pastor Dick Woodward, who has inspired me to think my way through the scriptures),

Rob Smith