As I thought about the dawning of 2026, one of my mediations included prayers for heart transformation – that God, the Holy Spirit, would make me a person that reflects His goodness and light into my world. The world we live in desperately needs light, hope, and peace, right?
All my good intentions will not just happen. As the hymn says I am ‘prone to wander, prone to leave the God I love!” Have you, like me, ever walked away from a conversation and wondered, “Why did I say that? Why did I let myself go there?” A morsel of gossip gets shared, or a critical comment slips in, or a demeaning statement is left unchallenged.
BUT, there is change available to us who follow Jesus. We CAN become different. How?
Peter’s first letter to the Christian church includes this direction for you and me - Because of the redemption of Christ, "rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 2:1-5, NIV)
When we crown Jesus our King, when the Spirit is invited to live in us, there is a genuine change of heart!
One thing that is evidence of His Presence is the words that flow out of our mouth. Peter says - No more malicious words, no more hypocritical words, no more slanderous talk that tears at others.
For a time
we may succeed in concealing our real thoughts but eventually what we really
think will leak out! Jesus said that “out of the heart the mouth speaks.”
If our heart is dark with hate, resentment, or bitterness – it will show up.
If the Spirit lives in us and makes us loving and joyful, the overflow in our
daily conversation will be life-giving, like refreshing water!
Do you know that the life of Spirit requires nourishment? Just like a living organism needs food, our spirit needs to be fed, and so Peter tells to “Crave pure spiritual milk.” An infant received complete nourishment in mother’s milk and grows. When we come prayerfully to Jesus, when we read His Word, when we worship – both with others and in our daily times of devotion – we are fed and thrive.
Peter switches metaphor in his further development of the mature Christian experience. He urges us to be ‘built into a spiritual house.’ A beautiful Christian life is not a project of self-improvement, nor does it grow in the soil of radical individualism. God’s plan is that we become part of His Body- the Church.
Self-centeredness,
the natural tendency to take care of ME first, self-interest, is replaced in
the Spirit-filled person with a desire to be linked with others in the
faith, fitted together like stones in a magnificent Temple!
“Living stones,” he calls us. Think about that. The ‘together’
aspect of our Christian faith is further explained by reminding us that we
called into a ‘holy priesthood.’
Peter is not, at all, emphasizing a position of power or control. A true
priest serves – God, first, then others on God’s behalf.
We, in our spiritual maturity and holy service become a pleasing offering to God, similar to the sacrifices offered on the Temple’s altars.
Oh, what an amazing passage. It starts with the ugly things of natural humanity and moves to the beauty of those called by God into a NEW life.
As you move
through life today, listen to the overflow of your words.
Do they reveal Christ at home in your heart? Don’t aim at perfection! You will
become discouraged. Rather aim at humility, renewal, and growth.
Our word from the Word is another translation of Peter’s words. May the Spirit cause them to be like mother’s milk to us, causing us to grow, to mature, and to become holy people in the service of the Lord.
“So, get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.
You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor. And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God.” (1 Peter 2:1-5, NLT)
Oh Lord, make us persons in whom is seen the Beauty of Jesus. Amen.
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