Holy, So Live Like It.

1 Peter 1

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. – Vs 13

Sometimes when reading a passage, I like to look at other translations of the Bible in order to get a better grasp on the meaning. Check out how these versions translate the same verse:

Therefore, get your minds ready for action by being fully sober, and set your hope completely on the grace that will be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed. (NET Bible)

So think clearly and exercise self–control. Look forward to the special blessings that will come to you at the return of Jesus Christ. (New Living Translation)

So roll up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready to receive the gift that's coming when Jesus arrives. (The Message)

So make your minds ready, and keep on the watch, hoping with all your power for the grace which is to come to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (Bible in Basic English)

Get your minds ready, roll up your sleeves, think clearly, prepare your minds for action. Do you get a sense of what Peter is saying? He is talking about having minds that are on the alert and ready to act. They are not distracted or weighed down by the cares of this world. It is a picture of a soldier who is fully prepared for battle. He can respond without delay to whatever need may arise. He is focused on the job at hand. Peter says that is the way our minds should be.

Be sober, self-controlled, put your mind in gear, keep on the watch. The Greek word used for "sober" has to do with abstaining from wine, but it can also mean "to be sober, to be calm and collected in spirit." Basically, Peter seems to be saying, "Don't let anything or anyone else influence you." The senses of your spirit need to be alert and ready at all times. Yet how often do we find ourselves "drunk on" or "under the influence of" the things of this world. We fill our spirit with the false messages of hope, happiness, fulfillment, and satisfaction this world offers. Then when God calls on us to act, we are unresponsive. Our spiritual reflexes are slowed or impaired. Instead of keeping watch, we become distracted or even fall asleep at our post.

Fix your hope, look forward to, be totally ready, hope with all your power. There's a reason we are to have our minds ready and our spirits on high alert. So that we can fix our hope on what is to come. The final measure of God's incredible gift of grace that we will receive when Jesus Christ returns. Our hope is not in this world. Sure, we are enjoying God's grace right now, but the real basis of our hope is yet to come. Jesus is going to return one day and complete God's plan of redemption and reconciliation. He will make all things right. He will restore everything back to the way it was meant to be. Righteousness will reign. The rule of sin will be over. That is what our hope is fixed on. It is what our salvation is based on.

So what's the point? Peter gives it to us just a few verses later when he says, "like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves in all your behavior" (Vs 15). Peter isn't saying that we have to be perfect and sinless. He is saying to see ourselves as set apart unto God. We have been chosen by Him (Vs 1). He has caused us to be born again (Vs 3). He has reserved an inheritance in heaven for us (Vs 5). So we should live lives that reveal we are His. We have been set apart by God for His use. We belong to Him. So Peter says act like it. Live like it. Behave like it. Don't live like the world. Don't live according to its standards. Instead, live according to God's standards. Get your minds ready for action. Keep your spirits sober and alert. Fix your hope on the return of Jesus.

Father, thank You for choosing me, for setting me apart as Your own. I want to live up to my calling. I want to reflect with my life the unique nature of who I am: a child of God. Help me keep my mind ready for action, my spirit sober and alert, and my hope fixed on the future return of Your Son. Don't let me get distracted, disillusioned, or drunk on the things of this world. Because I am Yours! Amen