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Tuesday- Creating Silence

 

For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.

 

1 Peter 2:15-17

 

Our world is filled with so much noise. Sitting in the quiet of our garden and pool, we’re interrupted by the blaring sound of music as cars rumble by. Even when we’re inside with the double-paned windows tightly shut, the low rumble of their base comes through and invades the peace of our world.

 

We’ll do just about anything to keep the sound out. When I was traveling every week, I bought noise-cancelling headphones[1] to try and find some of this quiet. Boy, was I surprised. They more than just blocked out the sound of the jet engines, they made me more relaxed.

 

If you think about it, Jesus really enjoyed silence. He would get away from everyone else to pray in silence. Some people have counted up to nine times in the life of Jesus that he got alone. When it came to his instructions about prayer, we’re to go into our closet[2]

 

If only we could muzzle the world to make it stop making all that racket like Jesus did. After talking with the Jewish leaders, they had nothing to say[3]. And in the storms of life, don’t we want Jesus to still and silence the raging sea and wind like he did on the Sea of Galilee[4].

 

As important as this is, there’s another kind of silence that’s a bigger deal. A difference stillness that will make our lives better. Something that will make the world not just quieter, but more peaceful. And that’s to stop the chatter of foolish people. Peter gives five things that we can do to help bring this into our lives.

 

  • Doing Good. Not just thinking good, or sending out good texts, but actually doing good things. We’re to be continually doing all sorts of good things for all the people around us. Not just those who like us, but also for people that have different ideas or opinions than we do.

  • Live Free. When we’re free, then we’re not under the thumb of people that are trying to hold us down. We’re also not letting the rules of other people stop us from being the kind of people that show the love of Jesus in our daily lives. Our daily lives are to overflow with this kind of freedom.

  • Proper Respect. Because these are people and positions that God has put in place, we’re to actively show them respect. This is not the respect that they’ve earned because of their long and faithful services. But this is the respect we show because of God’s handiwork in putting them there.

  • Love God’s Family. We are ordered to be presently and actively wanting nothing but the best for everyone in God’s family. Now, not all Christians may be my cup of tea, but Jesus died for them, and that’s reason enough to support, encourage, and help them. Didn’t Jesus do that for us?

  • Honor the Emperor. The Romans thought of the emperor as a god, and yet Peter orders his fellow Christians to show honor to him too. God was using even the emperor to bring glory to himself and to bless all people. We really don’t like this, but it’s the truth and so Peter writes it for them and us.

 

If you’re anything like me, your first reaction is, “WOW! That’s some list. There ain’t no way that I can do all of that. It’s way too much to expect from anyone. I’m not Superman. I’m just a guy that’s full of flaws and failures. This list is only for super-saints. And I’m not in that list by a long shot. And then, something happens. I remember that when I was at my worst, God still loved me enough to die for me. When I was the enemy of the Lord God of the universe, Jesus still came and died[5]. And then he rose again so I could be raised to newness of life[6].

 

We love because he first loved us.

 

1 John 4:19

 

Because he first loved me, I want to please the one who loves me. I’m willing to do anything that they want in loving response to who he is and all he’s already done for me. I’m totally energized to do everything for them. Because he first loved me, I love and obey him in return. Is that too much to ask? I don’t think so. Think back to when you fell in love. What was too much trouble? Was there anything that you weren’t willing to do? No. We were more than willing to volunteer to do anything and everything to please the one we love. So, how much evidence is that about our love for God in what we’re willing to do for him?

 

Noodling Questions

 

  • How can we make the reality of God’s loving sacrifice for us more real?

  • Which of the five things is hardest for you? Easiest? Explain.

  • What can we do to remember that his love makes us want to love him back?


[2] Matthew 6:6

[3] Matthew 22:34

[4] Mark 4:39

[5] Romans 5:8,10

[6] Romans 6:4

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