Thoughts from I Peter: part 1

I 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.

Soberness brings an alertness for preparation. Our minds will encounter action. As the truth of who Jesus is is revealed to us, we see that grace - his grace- is inseparable from who he is. We cannot have Christ without grace. Conversely we cannot have grace without Christ. It is fascinating to think that we can live this life with Christ but still not see grace in its effect. It’s almost like grace is the shadow of Christ, always with him, though we may not always see it or recognize it. But it is there, the shadow is there. In fact, we are to find our rest in the shadow of Christ. It is in Christ’s grace that we find rest. We wander around trying to do all this stuff... stuff... what stuff?!... stuff for what?!... What’s the purpose? There is no purpose, it is a result of a lack of understanding. A lack of seeing the Word applied in our lives. Peace and rest are in Christ’s grace simply because we finally realize that we can stop. We can stop trying to be the person we’re not. We can stop trying to be the person we think we ought to be. We can stop trying to be the person that anybody else wants us to be. We can be free to be who we are. We can be freely aware that the Lord will change us. We can curl up at his feet in the coolness of the grass as our shepherd keeps us protected in the shadow of his wing. We rest in our freedom.