Today’s reading is 1 Peter 2

Tom writes:

How to thrive in exile is the major theme of 1 Peter. Exile is disconnect from the presence of God. Exile is struggling to see God’s purposes coming to pass. Exile is being surrounded by people given to other gods, who seem to be getting along better than we are. For the Jewish nation, exile was disaster. Exile was a siege, squeezing out hope. And ever since, us newborn babes in Christ have interpreted feelings of exile the same way; they have cramped our chests, suffocating our souls. Peter the Pastor - Peter, the feeder of the lambs - addresses us here. He tells us that we were chosen. The Father chose us. He didn’t have to. He certainly didn’t need to. He didn’t do it because he felt guilty. It wasn’t a half-hearted act. He chose you because he wanted you. He wanted you. And so he chose you. He didn’t choose everyone - some are stumbling before him - but he did choose you. So, little lamb, don’t let your attention get distracted by everyone else. Instead, remember the mercy the Father has shown you in Jesus. By his wounds you were healed.

Through the death of Jesus, your spiritual exile was ended. And, so you can never be disconnected from God again. You belong to him and he is choosing to shepherd you. He is choosing to oversee your soul today. He - through Jesus Christ - is fulfilling his purposes in you every time you come to him. He is forging you and many, many others, into the population of his Kingdom. More than that; he is expertly and patiently crafting you and I together into a Holy Spirit House - a new temple - a place of His relentless rejoicing presence, even in the midst of the prospering “pagans”. That is a meal worth eating slowly. That is food that we want to digest well. For this food can transform our whole experience of life. This food can underpin a whole sense of identity. It gives us capacity to thrive spiritually in the midst of our physical exile. Fierce words, fickle friends, feelings of the forlorn cannot change what He Has Decided. Our Shepherd stands strong. And so let’s come to him. Let’s listen to his instructions and walk in his ways. Let’s choose to be different, letting the healing of his wounds go to work on our souls.

Question for reflection

In what ways do you feel like you are in exile? What is God’s response to those feelings you have?

1 Peter 2 - Wednesday 9th October