I Peter, part 5

I Peter 1:20-25

Peter is continuing his discourse on what Christ did and who Christ is, telling us in v. 20 that "He was foreknown before the foundation of the world..." Jesus is God who has lived eternally past and will live eternally in the future. But why did he come? Peter answers that immediately - he came for our sake, the sake of those who are believers in God through Jesus. Christ came into human history for my sake and for your sake. He didn't just come to give us truth, to be the truth, which he was and still is today. He came for us, so that we could belong to our Heavenly Father. God the Father raised Christ from the dead and gave him glory so that our faith and hope are in God, Peter goes on to explain. The "so that" is important here as it shows the purpose for which God raised Jesus from the dead. In some way it seems to me that the resurrection, while of course necessary in the salvation plan of God, also served to increase our faith and hope in God himself. We believe God and hope in him because Christ was risen from death. He conquered it, and God will conquer it for us as well. My hope does not have to be rooted in what I can do anymore, nor do I have some vain "hope" that in the end I've done enough for God to accept me. He has accepted me and given me a new and living hope, as Peter has already mentioned, through the resurrection of Jesus.

Peter begins a new thought in v. 22, moving from the explanation of who Jesus is and what God has accomplished into exhorting believers toward maturity in Christ. His basic message is this: because of all God has done, love one another from a pure heart. The super-natural response for each individual Christian is to NOT keep it to themselves but to share this love that God has given them with others. Specifically Peter has in mind Christians loving other Christians - this does not mean we are only to love Christians and shun non-Christians, but rather the point here is that there needs to be a mutual love for one another because of what God has done in each heart. The line of reasoning for v. 22 and 23 could go something like this: Since you have been born again to a new life following Jesus, obey Christ's greatest commands to love God and love one another in brotherly (and sisterly) love. The important idea is "since" - that is, because God has given you new life, a new and living hope in Jesus, the response must be one of love. And as the world sees our love for one another - which must be different and deeper than the world's vain version of love - spiritual light is reflected in our Christian communities to a world desperately in need of light.

The idea of being "born again" (in v. 23) is one of the best known and most mocked ideas in all of Christianity. Yet it comes up several times in Peter's writing, and he obviously gets it from Christ. Here's the deal: you simply can't get away from the fact that conversion is like a new birth. You were born into futility in this world, spiritually dead, blind, and dumb. You cannot save yourself and the only hope you have is for God to do a supernatural work and re-birth you and me. While there are many ways to describe what happens to someone when they become a Christian, one inevitable fact remains: they are born-again as Christians. What I find ridiculous is when people say "born-again Christian" as if there is another kind of Christian. There isn't. If you're a Christian, you're a born-again Christian. I will be the first to admit that I get uncomfortable at the questions some pose, such as "So are you a 'born-again' Christian?" But the fact remains that this is exactly what happened. I once was dead and now am alive. I once had no true hope and now have a living hope because I belong to a living Savior and the only true living God, my Heavenly Father. Born again is exactly what happened, and if you're not born again you're not a Christian. This new birth is of "imperishable seed" Peter goes on to explain. This is because my first birth was natural (though the birth process is amazing, it is still natural) and this second birth is super-natural. It is the coming to a knowledge of Jesus Christ that so changes you that you're literally re-born.

Peter then uses the Old Testament to say something that the Bible says over and over in different ways: you and I are a blip on the radar of human history, like the grass in a field or a flower in a garden. If this were a movie, you would be in it for, oh I don't know, 0.3 seconds or less. You'd have to try and pause the scene at just the right time so your friends could see you in the far back-drop of the scene. We are not the main Characters... God is. We are not the main point... He is, and His Word stands forever. It cannot be stamped out, killed out, chased out, legislated out, or anything else. Verse 25 says "And this word is the good news that was preached to you." This good news about Jesus that Peter was inspired to proclaim will stand forever, changing the lives of all who receive it in faith. Praise his name.

Disney's "A Christmas Carol" Review

Last Friday night my wife and I joined some friends for opening night of the "new" movie from Disney, "A Christmas Carol". It is the classic tale from Charles Dickens, done who knows how many times already in movie form. While the big push from the entertainment industry is to see movies in 3-D, we decided not to pay the extra money and saw it in regular fashion. The following are a few thoughts about the movie.

First of all, the movie is very well done when it comes to the animated side of things. It seriously amazes me just how advanced it all is getting. Gone are the days of Toy Story when animated movies were always cute, fun, and with some moral lesson usually built into them. These days animated movies seek to get as real as possibly and actually draw out truly suspenseful scenes. A Christmas Carol has some of the most tense/dramatic scenes I've seen from a animated movie yet.

I have not read the original book but have heard from several sources that this movie is the most true-to-the-book that has been made. The characters that are supposed to be scary are actually scary, to the point where your heart is racing a bit and you are sort of jumpy in some scenes. Since the animated movies I've seen are the likes of Shrek, Over the Hedge, and Ice Age, this was a surprise to me. Honestly, I'm not sure you want your 8 year old seeing the movie just yet... in my opinion, it really is that intense in some parts. However if it is true to the story then it does a great job brining out what Dickens likely wanted to be brought out.

There are several parts of the movie that Noelle and I chatted about on our way home. I don't know Dickens' spiritual state, whether or not he professed Christ or not. But the movie certainly had a spiritual element to it. the "ghost of Christmas present" was a jolly fellow, one you saw and just had to think "Jesus" when you saw him. He didn't necessarily say he was Jesus in the movie but did make reference to not being associated with certain "men of the cloth". The context, if I remember correctly, was the Scrooge was getting outraged as he saw the abuse of power from certain clergy in the visions he was shown (each ghost shows Scrooge scenes of either past, present, or future events that affect Scrooge's outlook on life). Also, the spiritual realm was closely associated with people being chained down in some form of punishment for not using their lives well. It was not a direct reference to Hell per se, but it was very intriguing to see some form of after-life punishment for people portrayed in the film.

Overall, I'm glad I went to see the movie. It ends with a good message (don't all Disney movies do that?), but takes you through the classic tale in phenomenal animated quality. I would suggest keeping an eye out for these spiritual parts of the movie because they are very intriguing. In th end, the Gospel message of Christ is not proclaimed in the slightest; in fact, Jesus Christ is not mentioned once so far as I can remember... and it is a Christmas movie! The message is a pretty moralistic one I suppose (do good and you will be blessed, don't do good and your spirit will suffer after you die), which sadly passes as a Christian message in many people's minds. The Gospel message of Jesus needs to be secured deep in our hearts - that we are sinners saved by grace, through faith, and this is a gift of God. We remember our Savior's coming at Christmas, remember his sacrifice and his resurrection, and can rejoice in the fact that we do not need to fear the afterlife, for the One who controls this life and the next lives in us and has secured eternity with himself.