Peter as Pastor - Marks of a Believer (Post 25)

Being a native Texan and growing up saturated in the state lore and mythology, I know about ranching.  Well, not really.  I'm a city girl - Ft. Worth, Dallas and Houston.  I have absolutely no first hand experience with cattle or sheep or hogs or any other ranch animal.  My uncle and cousins do have some cows on their property.  And I have observed them - from a distance.  One thing I do know ... each animal carries the brand of its owner. We had dogs and guinea pigs and hamsters - didn't brand them. But on a ranch, each animal is marked so that ownership cannot be disputed.  The animal wears the mark of the ranch.

As believers in Christ ... as 'Christians' ... we belong to a particular owner.  And we are to carry His 'mark'.  Today, I want you to consider what that mark look likes through Peter's eyes.  Are you branded?  Would someone know to whom you belong?  Let's see what Peter says ...

1 Peter 3: 8 - 22

The first thing I would have you notice is to whom this information is written.  Peter has been writing to specific groups of people - slaves, citizens, wives, husbands - as he wrote about submission.
(1 Peter 2:13 - 3:7)   He now turns to the readers in general.  He addresses these words to "all of you". All believers.  What follows is a description of the marks that we are to wear if we belong to Christ - our brand!  Notice a few with me:

          We are to live in harmony with each other.  Harmony in an orchestra or a chorus means that the sounds blend together.  They are not all the same sounds.  Each instrument is playing its own part - but when all of these individual parts are played together, the result is beautiful and full and melodious and so much grander than any one part played alone.  That is harmony.  Believers, we are to live in harmony with one another.  That is one of our marks.  And it definitely sets us apart from our world.  There is so little harmony among peoples in our world. It's a mark that shows to whom we belong.  We live in harmony.  Forgive us, Lord, when we fight to be 'first chair' or when we intentionally screech a strident sound to disrupt the piece.

          We extend sympathy to each other.  Paul explained it in Romans 12:15 "Rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn."  Sympathy and selfishness cannot coexist.  One of the marks of a believer is the way he/she walks with others.

          We love "as brothers".  That's familial.  Even when your siblings irritate you ... they are still your siblings.  They are still your family ... and that raises the stakes.  Believers, we love as brothers.  Even when we disagree.  Jesus communicated just how important this 'mark' is when He said:

"I give you a new commandment, that you love one another ... By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."  John 13: 14 - 15

"By this everyone will know ..."  Do you see it?  The "brand"?  The "mark"?

          We are compassionate people.  The Greek word Peter used is also used for 'tender-hearted'. This is not sentimentalism.  It means we never loose our sensitivity toward broken people. We pray to never become cynical and calloused to the pain, the hardships of others.   It's easier to ignore.  It's easier to pass judgment.  It's easier to think 'they must be getting what they deserve'.

          We are humble people.  There is absolutely no place in a believer's life for arrogance and "better than" thinking.  After all, we are fully aware of our "creature" status.  We are fully aware of our complete dependence on God.  On top of that, we are fully aware that our standard is Christ Himself.  Compare yourself there and check your "better than" status!  We don't compare ourselves to other people - but to Christ.  So humility is the 'normal' state of mind.

          We do good - wherever and whenever we can.  We do good in the way we talk and the way we behave.  Sometimes that "doing good" is appreciated - and sometimes it is not.   In fact, Peter lets us know that sometimes it will result in pain and persecution.  But we do good anyway.

          All these characteristics - these identifiers.  What if I like some of them and disagree with others?  What if some are easier and more natural for me than others?   We must remember, it is the owner that decides the brand.  It is the owner that puts together the mark that identifies things as belonging to His ranch.  Peter reminds his readers that it was Jesus who died "in order to bring them to God".  Therefore when we come ... we wear the mark of God ... it's non-negotiable.

          As we close our thoughts on this passage today, go back and look at the identifiers.  Put your name in the blank.  Is it true of you?  The reality can lead us directly into prayer ...

______ lives in harmony with other believers.  _______ extends sympathy to others - not just sentimentality, but care and concern and help when appropriate and possible.  ______ loves.  _____ loves even those who can be 'unlovely' ... even those who don't love him/her back ... he/she loves as if her fellow-believers were her family, her siblings - which, indeed, they are.  _____ is full of compassion.  He/she refuses to grow cynical and calloused to pain in another life.  ______ is humble.  He/she realizes that at the foot of the cross, all ground is level.  ______ knows that without her owner, she is and has nothing.  ______ does good.  His/her behaviors reflect the owner.  

God ... help us!