At Youth for Christ, our ministry team meets every Tuesday
morning for a ministry meeting where we dive into Scripture, talk about it,
work on some business stuff, then end with a good time of prayer. I cannot put into words how much I benefit
from and appreciate this time that we have together on Tuesdays, particularly
when we study the Bible. With what I have learned about Scripture from my
education at CSB/SJU, I have a renewed passion and desire for this book we call
sacred and I feel equipped to dig deeper into it.
Anyways, the purpose of this blog is to share the profound
truth that I have come to be quite passionate about and it was revealed to me
in 1 Peter, which is the most recent book of the Bible that our ministry team
has been studying. I had the privilege
of guiding our team through the first part of our study, basically giving an
introduction to 1 Peter and its purpose and context. It is in the purpose and context of this
letter to the Christians – particularly Gentile (Non-Jew) Christians living in Greco-Roman
cultures in the Asia Minor – that God really opened my eyes to some profound
truth. This set the table for a better
understanding of what I was reading and its relevancy.
The author of this letter remains anonymous according to scholars. Though the salutation states that the apostle
Peter wrote and sent the letter, it was common practice in the Greco-Roman
culture to sign letters with a name that may hold more authority to it then
one’s own (This happens many times with the Pauline Letters). Beside the point, this specific letter is
being sent to the Christians of this community because there is much social
tension and suffering for their faith.
In this Greco-Roman culture, Christianity is a strange, foreign, and
detested religion, which meant there was a lot of negativity towards those who
followed Christ, even within families.
Often times, Christians were misunderstood and slandered by those who
did not understand their faith. This
letter is not calling the Christians to lash out at or condemn those who
persecute them, but to remain faithful to their convictions and to stand firm
in the midst of suffering. “Always be
ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the
hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence
…” (1 Peter 3:15b-16). Their example
was Christ, who, being the Incarnate Word of God, suffered unjustly. But what is significant and profound about
using Christ as the example is the call to NOT
ABANDON THE WORLD simply because it persecutes and doesn’t understand your
faith. This is what brought about a
renewed understanding of my role as a Christ-follower.
As Christians, we are called emulate Christ, and this means
a refusal to abandon and forsake
those around you, especially those who don’t believe. This made me think of my favorite quote from
John K. Falconer: “I have but one candle
of life to burn, and I would rather burn it out in a land filled with darkness
than in a land flooded with light.”
To me, this parallels the call in 1 Peter. This call is very applicable in today’s
world and it is something that I am very passionate about because I see many
Christians who get caught up in their safe box of Christian lights that their
lights are not reaching in the darkness.
Now, I’m NOT saying the being apart of a Christian community is a bad
thing; it is very needed to commune with our fellow sisters and brothers in
Christ. But it is so very easy to stay
where we feel familiar and safe that we don’t shine the light of Jesus in the
darkness, frankly because the darkness is out of our comfort zone. This can be seen in how we choose the people
we hang out with or the school we go to.
When something is familiar, it feels safe and comfortable. But did Jesus’ ministry look like that? No! He
was reaching out to the underdogs of society and to the sick and diseased. He was burning brightly in a very dark place. We are called to do the same. Make friends with the person whose behaviors
or lifestyle choices make your skin crawl or with the people who don’t
understand you or persecute you. Those
are the individuals you should be making friends with. And when I mean being friends with them, I
don’t mean being on a mission to convert this person and that is your sole reason
and purpose for the friendship… That’s not
friendship. Christ was vulnerable and
not only exposed his divinity to the people he ministered to, but his full
humanity. By being open and honest with
people, that is where true relationships are formed and that very authenticity
is where the seed of Christ is best planted.
Now, I could rant on and on about how you should not shelter
your light from the world, but that would get redundant. I get feisty over it because I have seen so
much of it in people. I will simply
finish by saying that those friends that I personally have that don’t believe
the same as me or make specific lifestyle choices I don’t necessarily agree
with are some of the most amazing people in my life because they keep me on my
toes. I have to be ready to stand up for
my faith and convictions when they challenge them and that refines my beliefs
and makes them stronger and all the more
relevant. So thank you to those who
stir the coals up in my life. Keep
stirring … because I will keep burning.
This light, won’t abandon you.
-Pip Q
