Last week we talked about the simplicity of God's plan for the reconciliation of man to Him. It had to be simple, for not all men were intellectually gifted, nor capable of grasping the profound. Since the Garden of Eden, man had wandered in this world of sin and suffering, a willing participant in the self-centered sin of Adam and Eve. How could it be possible to reconcile this creature, in the complicated pagan world, to the perfect righteousness of the
God of Heaven? That was the problem.
Paul calls it the "Mystery", in the Ephesian letter. He says the problem was so great that the heavenly beings didn't understand how it could be. Here
Peter says the prophets, who spoke of the coming of the Christ, earnestly tried to understand the time and circumstances of God's plan. He says that even
the angels longed to understand.
If someone should come up with a cure for cancer, the world would shower him with adulation and honor. The person who is cured from some dread malady adores the doctor who is responsible for his recovery. Isn't it about time we came to realize how incredibly blessed we are by the God who has not only given us a way to escape the eternal malady of death for our sins, but has made it available and achievable for the most naive and simpleminded of us?
Peter points out that we live in a world of grief, and God has made it possible for us to know peace in spite of the misery which surrounds us. He says we have not seen Him, but we love Him for what He has already given us in hope. And all of it is available to those who will place their complete trust and faith in Him. This is the message His Holy Spirit has brought from heaven.
Paul says in Ephesians that the mystery is made known by the church. It isn't just that the church is commissioned to preach the story. The church is
the story. The called out ones attest to the power of the blood of Christ to cleanse and set apart those who place their faith in Him. The existence of this body of believers is the living evidence of the grace and power of God to save.
If we adore those who cure our physical bodies, how much more should we praise and adore Him who offers us eternal cure for our spiritual bodies. However, just as the medical doctor, after having cured your physical malady, tells you what to do to keep it that way, Peter is about to tell us what to do to
maintain the spiritual health that God has made available to us. He begins by alerting us with the phrase, "Prepare your minds for action". This echoes the
words of Paul in the Roman letter when he said, "...the renewing of your minds". Each of these writers tells us that God expects us to get our minds involved. The rituals of rote religion, and the repetitive liturgies of formal rites do not accomplish the will of God. Christianity is a religion that requires
thought...involvement...determination... recognition and response on the part of the believer. Faith is not a ritual act, it is the response of a convicted mind to the sacrifice of Christ and the Will of God. Holiness is the gift of God to those who set their minds to it!
