Home Safely

Posted on by korgrocker

“Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit.”
1 Peter 3:18 NLT

Consider the life of Jesus and how He was treated. He endured hunger, thirst, temptation, shame, persecution, nakedness, bereavement, betrayal, mockery, injustice and death. Jesus went through it all just for us, so that our sins, and the sins of everyone else, would be forgiven. As Peter wrote, “He never sinned” but that didn’t stop Him leaving the comfort of Heaven to become a man and to die for us at Calvary. The love of God knows no bounds. He was there when He created the world and He is still there today. Tomorrow will be no different, because God desires to “bring [us] safely home”. Christ suffered so that all who believe in Him will have an eternal home to look forward to.

We often send away our visitors with a good bye and the request that they drive safely and get home without mishap. There is something comforting about home. Familiar surroundings where we feel safe. A place where, somehow, the world’s troubles seem to be a long way away. We value our home very highly, and feel saddened and frustrated when we hear about people who are homeless. Life choices and other factors combine to exclude them from having a home. But when we pass on through the Great Divide, we leave our earthly home behind us. In 2 Corinthians 5:1 we read, “For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands“. Jesus Himself promised us a home in Heaven. He said, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?” (John 14:1-2). 

It is a painful thought to know that all those who have rejected God’s offer of salvation, and consequently a Heavenly home, will be homeless when they die. These people will probably include some of our dear friends and family, and so we do our utmost to persuade them to make the right choice. There will come a day when they will start their journey away from their current home, with a homeless destination awaiting them. And so we describe to all who will listen how wonderful our new home will be. Our message of hope, our faith that God will provide for us what He has promised, will help them make the right choice. Jesus said, “ … I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Only through Jesus can we get home safely. 

Dear Lord. We thank You for Your love and grace, as You build us our future Heavenly home. We worship You today. Amen.

A Good Life

Posted on by korgrocker

“Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.”
1 Peter 3:15-16 NLT

What does a “good life” look like? As a start, a person considered “good” is one who obeys the laws of the land, is a conscientious worker, probably does a bit of charity work, is a valued and loved family member, and overall is respected by friends, neighbours and all. The same person, if they believe in a heaven, would expect to get there purely as a reward for their “goodness”. A “bad” person would fail to meet expectations in one or more of these areas. We all recognise someone who society considers to be good.

However, the “good life” Peter was writing about is more than how the world sees it. There has to be a difference, because the “good life” he describes is “because you belong to Christ”. So what difference will that make? The Christian life is full of faith. Faith in God and faith that through the Holy Spirit we are developing the fruit of “goodness”. A believer’s “good life” starts at the cross, in repentance of sins, and believing in Jesus. The divine exchange takes place and in return for taking on all our sins, Jesus gives us His righteousness. We can then stand before God, meeting His definition of “good”. For all those people who claim to be “good” we must consider that even Jesus Himself would not take on board that title. In Mark 10:17-18 we read, “As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good“. Of course, we know that Jesus was, and is, divine, so He knew that He could claim to be good, but for the benefit of the man before Him He didn’t muddy the waters of his understanding. To be good in God’s eyes involves being holy, pure and righteous. Impossible qualities for human beings because, through our own efforts, we can never attain the standard that God requires. 

Those who are “good” in God’s eyes therefore must propagate that goodness to others, as Paul wrote in Galatians 6:10, “Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith“. Peter, in today’s verses, pointed out that the “good life” we lead must be visible so that those who “speak against you” will be ashamed. Our goodness is a visible quality that has a strong counter-cultural content. Belonging to Christ elevates us into a realm that is represented by light. In John 1:5, we read, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it“. That light is Jesus, and as His followers we reflect that light into a dark and depressed world. As a small boy I remember a chorus we used to sing in Sunday school. “Keep me shining Lord…”. I didn’t understand it too well then, but it has stuck with me ever since. So we pilgrims, every day, have the opportunity to switch on our Jesus-lights and make a difference in our communities. Our “goodness” will illuminate many a dark soul.

Dear Father God. Only You are good, but through Jesus we can stand before You with His righteousness. There is no badness in Your presence, no sin or evil. So we thank You that one day perfection will be found with You. Thank You too for Jesus, because if it wasn’t for Him we would die because of our sins. We praise and worship You today. Amen.

Our Hope

Posted on by korgrocker

“But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.”
1 Peter 3:14-15 NLT

If the average person in the street was asked what they hoped for, I would expect a whole raft of responses. Perhaps someone might say they hoped to get married, or get a new home. A new job or promotion. I met a man recently who has never worked and, now in his forties, with a life blighted by alcoholism, he confessed that he would really like to get a job, though sadly for him, a hope never likely to be realised unless he can turn his back on his addiction. There may be flippant or unimportant responses, such as a hope for a nice day tomorrow, or for a white Christmas. Perhaps our person in the street, driven by tv advertising, is hoping to buy a new pair of designer trainers or afford a new phone. A materialistic hope would perhaps be commonplace. People generally have “hopes” in their lives, but what would they say if they were asked about any hopes they might have for the time after they die? Most unbelievers wouldn’t waste much time in thinking about such a “hope” because they would prefer to put their heads in the sand and hope it will never happen. A fear of dying is commonplace, though someone I once knew said he wasn’t at all afraid of death – he just didn’t want to be involved. But a hope for a post-death future is mostly only talked about amongst believers.

A worldly “hope” is nothing like the hope Peter is writing about in his letter. Peter referred to the “hope as a believer”. Is this different? There are many Scriptures that refer to “hope”. The go to New Testament verse is Hebrews 11:1, “Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see“. A believer’s “hope” involves faith in God, that what He has said will come to pass. And as we go on to read the rest of Hebrews 11 we see examples of men and women who have died full of faith in God, though failing to fully realise their hope. The fruition of their hope came with Jesus.

God says much in the Bible about who we are and what our future will be. Through faith we believe that what He has said is right and true. There is no room for doubts about God’s Word. The believer’s “hope” is therefore much more than what the world understands from the word. Our hope is based on the certainty that what God has said He will bring to pass. The believer’s hope is of course too good to keep to ourselves. We must share it with the sad and dying world around us. We are, or should be, full of joy, part of the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives. And others around us will see that joy and take note. We read in Acts 4:13, “The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus“. Do those people around us recognise that we too have spent time with Jesus? Some cynic once asked the question – if we are arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict us? No doubt about that with Peter and John before the Sanhedrin. With the hope that we possess, oozing out of our every pore, there should be no doubt with us either. To us pilgrims, our hope is a reality. We use the word “hope” because the evidence of our faith hasn’t happened yet. But the reality isn’t far away. Eternal life spent with God is coming closer with every clock tick. And then we will become “knowers” not “hopers”.

Dear Lord Jesus. We know that You are preparing a place for us to live with You. From what You said to the adjacent thief at Calvary, we know that it will be Paradise. We look forward to the coming day, where we will join You, the Living Hope. Amen.

Christ is Lord

Posted on by korgrocker

“But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.”
1 Peter 3:14-15 NLT

Peter instructed His readers to “worship Christ as Lord of [their lives]”. But what does it mean to do this, as is it a relevance today?  We might bristle a little at the thought of a lord, who we might imagine as being the inhabitant of a large stately home who attends the upper house in the UK parliament. A person who speaks with a “posh” accent and seems divorced from the pressures and problems experienced by ordinary people. But that is not the sort of “lord” that Peter was writing about. A “lord” is someone with authority and control over others, a ruler and someone worthy of respect. In the days before Jesus’ death and resurrection, referring to Him as “Lord” was just being respectful, as we read in Matthew 8:25, “The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”” But we remember the exclamation from Thomas in John 20:28, after he at last accepted Jesus’ deity, ““My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.”

The recipients of Peter’s letter had never met Jesus and yet Peter instructed them to make Him Lord of their lives. This means that they were to submit to His authority, doing the things He asked them to do. Behaving in a way honouring to Him. Being in submission and obeying His every word. And the same applies to us pilgrims today. We too have the same opportunity to follow Jesus, making Him Lord of our lives. Jesus exemplified much of what this means as He made His way around Palestine, teaching the disciples and the people, and healing all who came to Him. And He even washed His disciples feet on one occasion, and we read in John 13:13-15, “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you“.

We pilgrims today read the Scriptures and find there all we need to properly honour Jesus as our Lord. But it is an attitude of mind and deed that we have to work at, and always being aware of the warning that Jesus taught, “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say?” (Luke 6:46). ‭‭It is indeed not good enough to go through the motions of religiosity, without sincerity in our hearts. Jesus can see right through us to the very inner workings of soul and mind.

One day everyone in Heaven and on earth will have to bend the knee before Jesus and acknowledge His Lordship. We read in Philippians 2:9-11, “Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honour and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father“. Much better to live a life devoted to Christ as Lord in this life, than wait for an hour full of regret when a missed opportunity becomes an eternity without Him.

Dear Lord and Father of all mankind. Forgive our foolish ways, we pray. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

One Mind(2)

Posted on by korgrocker

“Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathise with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tender-hearted, and keep a humble attitude.”
1 Peter 3:8 NLT

In a previous blog post we considered the analogy of the human body, and how it is made up of many individual parts and how they all need to be functioning correctly and together to ensure that the body functions as it should. We see the impact of a body part that shouldn’t be there, and working against the rest of the body, in the ravages of cancer. Sadly, many churches fall apart, or split, or even disappear, because of cancerous growths in their midst caused by selfish people with their own agendas, agendas that are at variance with the rest of the body. And today I know of some Christians living near me who no longer attend a church because they are unable to reconcile their beliefs with the church they left behind. Perhaps they have claimed what they consider to be the moral or theological high ground, but have missed the thing that pleases God the most – being kind and caring, in submission to one another. Or perhaps their unrepentant pride and selfish behaviour is the problem. One-mindedness involves self-sacrifice, and we pilgrims should never leave a church lightly, and even then only with God’s blessing.

Being of one mind, particularly with God, pleases Him immensely. A divided church is a sad and pitiable entity, and one that grieves God deeply. Sometimes we spend too long arguing about what divides us, rather than celebrating what we agree on. Jesus taught about the dangers of division. He was once accused of casting out demons by the power of satan. In response he told a parable about a divided kingdom. We read in Matthew 12:25, “Jesus knew their thoughts and replied, “Any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed. A town or family splintered by feuding will fall apart“”. And a few verses further on Jesus ominously said, “Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me” (Matthew 12:30). We pilgrims don’t want to find ourselves in a place where we are working against Jesus. 

Peter continued with the theme of one-mindedness using words such as “sympathise”, “love”, “tender-hearted” and “humble”. These are all words that describe our attitude to one another. We pilgrims, of course, work hard at being at one with one another. And we look out for ways in which we can humbly implement many of the “one another’s” we find in the Bible. The natural tendency of human beings is to congregate with others of similar race, education and employment. But as believers we have the privilege of making friends with wonderful people from different nations and backgrounds. Being of one mind with fellow believers is God-ordained – we will all one day be worshipping God together, in one mind of course.

Dear Father God. You ordained unity amongst Your children, not strife and division. Please help us to put others first. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

By His Wounds

Posted on by korgrocker

“He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.”
1 Peter 2:24 NLT

Does God heal today? Peter said quite unequivocally that He does, or at least did in his days on this earth. And that’s the issue for many – does healing in the way Peter wrote about, through the power of the Holy Spirit, still take place today as it did then? Through Peter, God certainly brought about miracles of healing to a people who otherwise had no hope. In Acts 3 there is the story of the lame man, a man who had never had the use of his legs and feet since he was born, and we read in Acts 3:6 what happened to him. “But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!”” It should be noted that Peter himself didn’t have the power to heal in this miraculous way. It was accomplished “in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene”. Only God had the power to heal.

Jesus said to His disciples, “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!” (John 14:12-14). Jesus said that to His disciples and, don’t forget, we are His disciples as well.

Peter’s verse today was influenced by the prophecy in Isaiah 53:5, “But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed“. What Isaiah could see coming happened several hundred years later. That a man, the Son of God, would be cruelly whipped so that people who believed in Him would be healed. It happened in the first century and I believe it has been happening ever since.

We pilgrims have the power within us, through the Holy Spirit, to do amazing things. Ephesians 3:20, “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think“. Either that verse is true or it isn’t. The problem for many today is that, failing to experience God’s healing power as a result of their prayers, they have decided that when the early apostles died, the power to heal died with them. But there is nothing that I can find in the Bible that would confirm that belief. So, churches particularly here in the West, no longer give the Holy Spirit His proper place in their worship. In fact, some have questioned that if the Holy Spirit left their churches, would there be any difference? The pews would still be there. The liturgies unchanged. The prayers still said. The Bible still read. But no divine presence.

For me, I do not know why some prayers for healing are answered by God, and others, perhaps most, are not. Some say it’s due to a lack of faith. Or that presumption has displaced belief. Or that it is not God’s will for a person to be always healed by prayer. But, personally, I will always pray for healing for those who are sick. Peter wrote, “By his wounds you are healed“. As these verses were inspired by the Holy Spirit, and because He resides within me, I will pray. And pray again. As much as it takes. Only God knows the end from the beginning. And only He will heal.

Dear God. You are the ultimate Healer, and able to work wonderful miracles. Please forgive us for our unbelief and lack of faith. Amen.

Dead to Sin

Posted on by korgrocker

“He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.”
1 Peter 2:24 NLT

Isaiah’s prophecy, recorded in Isaiah 53:4-6, was obviously in Peter’s mind when he wrote the verse we are considering today. But Peter lived with Jesus when He was actively ministering to His people. He knew and saw at first hand the miracles Jesus committed. He was there with James and John when Jesus walked and talked with Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration. He was around when our Lord was tried at a mock trial and was crucified unjustly. He was there on that wonderful and amazing day when Jesus appeared to him and his fellow disciples just days after His death, and kept on appearing for another forty days or so. He was there when Jesus ascended into Heaven. His first hand experience of being with the Son of God stayed with him for the rest of his life. And by now a very different Peter, transformed by the Holy Spirit, had become, not a “believer” but a “know-er”.  He knew what Jesus had achieved by completing God’s assignment here on Planet Earth.

In Isaiah 53:4-5a we read, “Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. … ” The intention of God’s plan was revealed to Isaiah many years before He carried it out. And it involved something that is too good to be true, but, to quote the old cliché, it is too good not to be true. Jesus came to this world to take on board in His person all the sins committed by mankind, past, present and future, so that all those who believed in Him would not have to suffer the consequences of sin. Repentant sinners, who believe in Jesus, will never have to face the final judgement. Isaiah could see it coming. Peter experienced it. We pilgrims faithfully believe it.

Peter wrote that because Jesus did what He did, we can live lives free of sin and full of righteousness, God’s righteousness imputed to us through Jesus. Is that a reality in our lives, or do we still try and live a double life? It is God’s way or the wrong way. There is no middle ground for a pilgrim true to his or her faith in God.

Dear Father God. We thank You for Jesus, and Your ultimate redemptive plan for the salvation of humanity. Without it we were indeed a lost and sad people. Amen.

God Judges

Posted on by korgrocker

“He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly.”
1 Peter 2:23 NLT

Our judicial systems in the West are very much based on the principle that if someone commits a crime then they will be punished. Of course, not everyone is found out by the authorities and many escape justice, but those who are caught will find out that there are consequences. The principle of justice in the here and now started in the Garden when Adam and Eve were found out because of their sin. In Genesis 3 we read about the consequences of sin, and God pronounced judgement, starting with the snake, then Eve and finishing with Adam. And there was that poignant moment when we read that Adam and Eve had to be clothed in skins probably from animals they knew and loved. Sin is followed by consequences and it impacts others than just the miscreant. We know the story of Cain and Abel, which we can read in Genesis 4, where Cain killed Abel because of jealousy and had to face into consequences for his sin. 

The essence of the Jewish Law, given by God through Moses, was, amongst other things, to provide forgiveness for sins committed. But as we now know, this was only until Jesus came to take on the punishment we deserve for our sin. Paul wrote to the Galatians, “Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian” (Galatians 3:24-25). And as we know, there is no purpose in keeping the Mosaic Law to achieve righteousness, because there is a better way. Referring to the Law’s adherents, Paul wrote in Romans 10:3-4, “For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God“. I have marked in my Bible the verses highlighting the Good News about Jesus, “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved” (Romans 10:9-10).

The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord“. There will come a day when sin will have to be accounted for. Jesus suffered greatly here on earth, but He knew He could leave “his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly“. But in this life, in the here and now, there are many who seem totally ignorant of the fact that sooner or later they will have to face into the consequences of all the bad things they have done here on Planet Earth. We live in a moral universe and the scales of justice will be balanced, either in this life or the next. All those people who abused Jesus will find out the consequences of their sin. And that is why He knew that He didn’t have to retaliate, even though He could. He had the power at His fingertips because He was and is God.

We have to turn to Revelation 20 to find out when justice will finally be administered. And the sad thing is that many people, facing justice and punishment for their crimes in this life, will face it again because God will have the final word. And all those who think they have got away with their wrongdoings, will have a nasty shock. We have an opportunity in this life, through Jesus, to put right all the bad things we have done. But when we leave this life, the opportunity will leave with us. A sobering thought, particularly when we don’t know when we will draw our last breath.

But note what Peter wrote. He said God “always judges fairly”. We will only be judged for what we know. So, for example, those people who have never heard the Gospel won’t be judged as though they had.

We pilgrims know all of this, of course. We have embraced the Son and His redemption. We keep short accounts with God. We love Him and walk each day in gratitude for all He has done for us. And we reach out to those around us with the same redemptive message.

Dear God. Thank You for all You have done for us through Jesus. Amen.

Retaliation

Posted on by korgrocker

“He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly.”
1 Peter 2:23 NLT

‭‭Whenever I think of the way the Son of God was treated during His life here on Planet Earth, and particularly during His trial and execution, I become deeply saddened. It’s hard enough to see such treatment when it happens to fellow human beings, but the Son of God, Jesus Himself. …? We read about how fellow believers are treated in authoritarian states such as Afghanistan or North Korea. Christians in some parts of India suffer greatly for no other reason that their belief in God. But surely the greatest miscarriage of justice took place in Palestine two thousand years ago, in a city called Jerusalem. 

Starting with the insults levelled at Jesus in the grounds of the high priest’s home, we read in Luke 22:63-65, “The guards in charge of Jesus began mocking and beating him. They blindfolded him and said, “Prophesy to us! Who hit you that time?” And they hurled all sorts of terrible insults at him“. But there is no record of Jesus even acknowledging what His tormenters had done. The next time He spoke was in front of the Jewish High Council, the Sanhedrin. In response to a question about whether or not He was the Messiah, ” … He replied, “If I tell you, you won’t believe me. And if I ask you a question, you won’t answer” (Luke 22:67b-68). Jesus was in control but submissive to the outcome of what was yet to come. Pilate asked Jesus if He was the King of the Jews, to which Jesus replied “you have said it”. And finally we read what He said in Luke 23:34a, “ … Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing …”. Jesus was happy to leave “His case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly“.

Jesus could have called upon angels to help Him, as we read in Matthew 26:53, “Don’t you realise that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly?” He could have used His miracle-working powers to zap all His antagonists at a stroke. But in spite of all the abuse Jesus suffered, He kept focused on the reason why He came to Planet Earth. John 3:16,“ “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life“. Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost“.

We pilgrims can only fall down before Jesus in gratitude, that He did not flinch from the path set before Him, and He swallowed the bitter cup of death and sacrifice for the sins of humanity to the last drop. There will come a time when all those who were complicit in the trial and crucifixion of Jesus will be called to account. Perhaps, in hindsight, they realised their crime, and fell on their knees in repentance before God. Only then would they hear the Saviour grant them forgiveness. Today, there are many around us who either do not know what Jesus did, or have chosen to ignore the Good News of what happened that day at Calvary. Through their rebellion and sin they too are complicit in hammering home the nails. But we pilgrims know why we have been called, and we mustn’t flinch from fulfilling our calling, no matter what it takes. We may or may not suffer abuse. But, like Jesus, we press on to the Heavenly goal.

Dear Father God. Jesus never turned away from the Cross, even though He could have done. Please help us to follow His example. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Christ’s Example

Posted on by korgrocker

“For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered [or died] for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone.”
1 Peter 2:21-22 NLT

Jesus never sinned, as Peter rightly wrote. After all he should know because he spent three years or so with Jesus as He journeyed around the roads and paths, villages and towns, in Palestine. Those long days spent in His company would have revealed any sins, even those that were hidden, but of course there weren’t any. Paul also wrote that Jesus never sinned, as we read in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ“. And 1 John 3:5, “And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him“.

So how do we pilgrims follow someone who is sinless, when we have all this sin baggage? I suppose we must start by asking ourselves what it is that we do follow, because we all have a passion for something, if we really think about it. I’m writing this near St Andrews, one of the great golfing cities in Scotland. And there will be many today indulging their passion for golf, hitting a small white ball around some beautifully landscaped fairways and greens. Others follow football, or motor racing. The list is seemingly endless. But a passion for following Christ will, I suspect, be well down the list of things that people will follow in this secular society.

There is a cost to following Christ. He said, “If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine” (Matthew 10:38). In Jesus’s day, the crowds followed Him, attracted by the miracles that He performed. Enjoying times like the day He fed 5,000 people. For those He healed, appreciating the freedom from long term disability and sickness. In modern parlance, Jesus was cool. A great guy to be around. However, people were more interested in what He did, rather than who He was. Jesus advised that prospective disciples should consider carefully what discipleship could mean. He said, as recorded in Luke 14:28, “But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it?”

Jesus also said, “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). And John 16:33, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world“.

Peter wrote, “[Jesus] is your example, and you must follow in his steps”. Jesus trod a road that was far from easy and it led to His death at Calvary. I’m not suggesting that we pilgrims will come to a violent end, but the road to our Promised Land won’t be an easy one. But Jesus knew the secret for holding on and finishing the course. He is there to help our every step. After all He said, “But take heart, because I have overcome the world“. As we stay close to Him He will do just that. It’s all about trust and faith in Him, our loving Saviour.

Dear Father God. we know that our choice to follow Jesus won’t be easy, but we’re grateful that You will be with us, day by day. In Jesus’ name. Amen.