1 Peter 1:13
“Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
“Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
This is an interesting passage. To use one of it’s descriptors, it’s sobering. I’m not exactly sure why. It feels very grave. Almost like going to war. I understand that at particular times, but it doesn’t appear to be temporary. It doesn’t seem possible to keep that level of seriousness or intensity up. I just re-read the passage and Peter speaks of the immediacy of Christ’s return. Here are phrases that seem to infer that: “to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable”, you are suffering through trials “for a little while” and “at the revelation of Jesus”.
Was Peter wrong about the immediacy of Christ’s return? He would have been shocked to learn that 2,000 years later, we’re still here. So, why the tone? I believe the scripture teaches that we should remain in a state of readiness. In Matthew 25, Jesus tells the parable of the Ten Virgins. They knew to go out to meet the bridegroom. He was delayed. Everyone fell asleep. Half of them didn’t have enough oil in their lamps for the journey. When they showed up, the bridegroom said he “didn’t know them”. Jesus’ charge at the end was “Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.”
This concept stirs anxiety within. This is part of what prompted me to accept Christ. Now that I’m in Christ, do I still need to be anxious? No, for I’m in Him. I think that is for the lukewarm or the unbelievers. Yet, Peter wants us in a particular state of readiness. He says to “prepare your minds for action”. I would say that “the world, the flesh and the devil” are seeking to destroy us. We need to be aware of those things. I would also say that we should be ready to share Christ whenever a situation arrives.
The second charge is to be sober in spirit. The opposite of sober is to be drunk. Those that are drunk are unaware of reality. They are anesthatized to what’s going on. We are to be aware of our surroundings. Like a guide who is escorting people through the wilderness. He knows of the potential dangers. To be drunk is also to be giddy at inappropriate times. We are to congruent with the situation.
Our hope is to be fixed at Jesus’ revelation. I admit that I don’t think of the end often. If I didn’t I would have a sense of the immediate, like Peter. The “cares of the world” keep my mind occupied. I do need to take care of business. But I still need to keep His return in mind. Calvary Chapel is good at that. Pastor Chuck and Greg Laurie always spoke of it. I always felt dred when Greg would talk. I never saw any of that in him. I still don’t claim to understand that. Because no one is perfectly ready. So, they should have guilt also. I never got that sense from either of them. They probably had a better understanding of grace.
Lord, help me to grow in this. Help me to not let guilt cause me to avoid thinking of Your immediate return.