Similar to the urging of Paul in his letter to Christians at Rome (Romans 12:14-21), Peter urged his readers facing persecution and trials to. . .
“(9) Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. (10) For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; (11) let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. (12) For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”” (1 Peter 3:9-12 ESV)
There are at least two blessings I see noted in this passage. The first is that those who are willing to bless others will themselves be blessed. That which is sown from our Christian character will ultimately be what we will reap. Rather than stirring things up further by retaliation or fighting fire with fire, blessing is to be offered with the hope of getting others to duly respond and look to God. Is our life being lived to continually direct the focus upward?
The second blessing is noted in what Peter quoted from the Psalms. (Psalm 34:12-16) While seeking to live life in a godly manner, let us acknowledge the great blessing that it ours in it being God Who will ultimately deal with the evil. It is not our job to take them out. Though we should try to make the life sphere around us a better place, it is not on our shoulders to right every wrong. God is fully aware of the evil as He is also fully aware of the good of our life and how we are treated by others in this realm. Like Jesus — as He faced ill-treatment on our behalf — let us press on as we entrust ourselves to Him who judges justly. (1 Peter 2:23) May we live our life to glorify God as we trust His awareness of the whole of life in this realm and His ability to bring us into eternity with Him!
Have a great day BLESSED TO BLESS TO BE BLESSED!
Carl
