A Thought

“If you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear, knowing you were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver or gold from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ …” 1 Peter 1:17-19a

This passage and others like it should not be mistaken with notions of good conduct and charitable deeds as accumulated “merits” by which we can earn points toward our salvation.  Rather the judgment by the Father will be to determine whether we are found faithful to all Christ taught us “throughout” our time in this life when our judgment is upon us.  Our profession of faith, our spiritual “pledge of allegiance”, is where we begin, but it is not where the journey ends.  We are called to live according to that redemption not as a purchase but as a trade when the Lord proclaimed, “My life for yours”.

So we called to live and conduct ourselves not according to social or cultural standards taught to us by our own traditions (which, incidentally, shift from one generation to the next), but are instead called to the reality of the transformation from within.  This is to say, we are not to “fit” the Lord into our already-busy schedules and priorities; we are called to put all else aside for the Lord and then reorder our lives according to Him and all He taught us.

“Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).

Blessings,

Michael