BLESS OTHERS!!
Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.
I Peter 3:9
The above verse describes the life of one who genuinely becomes a blessing to others. And as with Peter’s contemporary society, ours stands in need of a clear demonstration of the love of God in the midst of negativity and divisiveness. So, what can the followers of Christ do?
In agreement with Peter’s instruction for the church in his day, we are called to bless others.
“Repay evil with blessings, because to this you were called so that you might inherit a blessing.” (I Peter 3:9)
Considering the greater context, Peter has just concluded a section on living in our Christian freedom as citizens, servants, and as wives and husbands (2:13-3:7). The common factor of these relationships prescribed a continual Christlikeness even when mistreated.
Peter has referenced trials from the very beginning of his letter to the persecuted Christians:
6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. (I Peter 1:6-7)
And, he has demonstrated the right attitude in such trials through referencing Jesus as our example:
19 For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. 20 But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. 21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 22 “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” 23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 24 “He himself bore our sins” in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” (2:19-24).
Now, in I Peter 3:9, the emphasis continues. In the midst of sufferings, do good. Be a blessing. Live out the love of Christ our Lord. For, one should not allow present unsettling moments to change one’s behavior from that which is expected in a follower of Jesus. So, bless others.
And our motivation rests on the fact that we are blessed people. We are called to inherit the blessing of God.
On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.
The emphasis here does not express a salvation by works, for that would be antithetical to the whole Counsel of God’s Word. Rather, this emphasizes the fact that the spiritual inheritance of the follower of Christ (the full redemption to abundant and eternal life), made possible only through faith in Jesus Christ, becomes the blessing that must be lived out so that the witness of the church blesses others. Peter’s words reveal that the Christian’s spiritual inheritance and the Christian’s right behavior toward others are inseparable. And from the perspective of our spiritual inheritance, we are to bless others by living out the truth of Jesus and the grace and mercy proclaimed in the Gospel.
So today, do not respond negatively to your adversities, thus clouding your Christian witness. Instead, as the Father has blessed you, so become a blessing to others. Reflect the love and grace of Christ, even in the midst of adversities.
Bless others, for you indeed are blessed.
Blessings!
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