As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.
1 Peter 4:2 (NIV)
The Rest of the Time
The lane closes a mile before the work, and the morning traffic comes down to one car at a time behind a pickup with an orange flag on the tailgate. The man in the third car has driven this stretch every morning for three weeks. His window’s down and his arm’s along the door, and he knows the pilot truck will come back down the far side in about four minutes.
As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. Peter wrote that to Christians scattered across several provinces. Christ had suffered in his body, and they were to arm themselves with the same attitude.
They still had time left, and that time goes to what God wants. They had work to do and neighbors to live beside and nothing unusual in the week ahead of them.
Those neighbors were surprised at them and heaped abuse on them for staying out of the wild living. Peter tells them the ones doing the heaping will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. God has that end of it. The believers get their days for his will.
God wants things done today that are mostly within reach. The person in front of you, and the call you keep not making. A morning given to either one is a morning given to the will of God.
He gave them one direction for everything that was left, and the direction turned out to be a person who wants something and has said what it is.
Three weeks in, the man in the third car knows the flagger by sight, and he lifts two fingers off the wheel as he goes past.
A Prayer to Remember
Take today as it comes, God. We don’t have large lives to offer you, and we do have the next fourteen hours. Put us where you want us inside them, at whatever’s in front of us. We want tonight to have one thing in it that was yours.
In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
