Hope Series Week 2 : Day 4

Hope: Devotional series

Week 2: Verses from 1 Peter 1:3-21

Day 4:

Welcome to day 4 of the 2nd week in our series about Hope. Today we focus on 1 Peter 1:13

“Therefore gird up your minds, be sober, set your hope fully upon the grace that is coming to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

Apocalypse, prophets, angels, and end times are things Peter mentions as he writes about Jesus. Unfortunately, the images that these words conjure up in our imaginations have more to do with our culture than the Bible. Imagination is a very important part of being human and also in our beholding of the King. But sometimes one’s imagination goes off track and runs wild, and that can be dangerous, as we all know.

Better to do then what Peter writes here. Literally he says: belt your mind. This does not mean to give up your freedom. It means to think soberly so that you can see what is really going on. And there’s a lot of sobering up needed in our culture.

Take the word “apocalypse,” for example. The Greek word Peter uses, where our word “apocalypse” comes from, actually means “revelation.” That’s how it is translated in today’s verse and throughout the Bible. But in our culture, “apocalypse” means “end of the world happenings.” Two very different ways of thinking about our world. The claim the Bible makes is that the history of the world, and our lives in it, revolves around the revelation of Christ. That, by the way, is what the book “Revelation” is all about. And Peter calls us to align our thinking with this “Apocalypse” – the revelation of Jesus as the Christ.

This revelation, Peter writes, has been given to us by God’s grace. Think about it: Where history was heading, what the prophets searched and inquired about, what even the angels who are constantly in God’s presence long to have insight in, is given to us. Do you realize the privileged place grace places us in?

“Therefore,” Peter says, “gird up your minds.” Align your thinking with the revelation of Jesus. While our culture imagines an apocalypse with no hope, we are called to place our minds and imaginations in the service of Jesus as King. His “apocalypse” brings grace and hope for everything and everyone, and you are called by this King to partner with Him in His mission. Sober up about the world and your purpose in it. Let your imagination dwell on what it could look like if Jesus is revealed as King in your home, place of work, in your community? And when your mind goes there, your body will follow.

And so, we pray: Father, thank you for this amazing grace we share in. Help us to remember how privileged we are. Lord Jesus, take hold of our imaginations by your Spirit for the Hope your Kingdom wants to bring in homes, workplaces, and communities. Help us to align our thinking with you. In your name, we pray this. Amen.