Fervor and Practicality

I awoke early this morning with the words “Fervor and Practicality” on my mind.  These were the two words that the Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary used to describe the characteristics of Peter’s first epistle.  They went on to say that those characteristics matched Peter’s “energetic and warm hearted” personality.  Those comments struck a dissident chord in my thoughts as I read that yesterday for a couple of reasons.  First of all, I never considered Peter in those terms.  I had always pictured him as a big, burly fisherman who tended to act first and ask questions later!  As I thought about it though, I realized that my characterization of him came from his actions before he was born again and filled with the Spirit.  When you take a look at him from the book of Acts on, a different individual seems to emerge!

The second reason for my being taken back at the commentaries description is that I never fully realized the depth of Peter’s love and concern for the people under his care.  The book of I Peter is very similar to James’ epistle in it’s appreciation for the practical needs and care of the early church.  After reading over the overall book comments for this letter, I began to read its message under a new light.

In his first letter Peter gets into some deep theological tenants of our faith.  For example he discusses the importance of the blood of Christ in our salvation (I Peter 1:18-19), the truth of healing as part of the atonement of Christ (I Peter 2:24) and Christ’s position as head of the body over all powers and authorities (I Peter 3:22).  What was interesting to me though was the way that he intertwined all these deeply important spiritual truths into practical applications for the reader’s daily lives.  He took all of these tenants and with his personal unabashed fervor, put them into the context of practicality.

So, I came away from my continued study today, in the light of what I have just presented, with two outstanding thoughts.  One being how God’s influence can change anybody’s personality.  Using Peter as an example will put to flight any notions of “well, that’s just who I am,” or “I’m too old to change”, or “I can’t help myself, it’s just my Irish (or any other heritage) temper.” Peter’s change was really quite dramatic, and if need be, so can yours be!

The other thought was how we Christians can become so focused on how mature we are becoming in our understanding of the Word, that we forget the practical applications to those around us!  I can think of an individual that had a powerful impact on my wife in her early high school years.  This lady may not have been one who possessed a deep level of theological understanding but she knew and practiced the love of God.  I truly believe that this sweet women’s influence on Piper was a major part of the crafting of my wife’s loving, caring, non-judgmental and always giving attitude that she has displayed since I’ve known her.

“Fervor and Practicality.”  I am beginning to think that these might be two of the more important parts of the gospel message that we as members of the body of Christ need to concentrate on.  Growing in personal understanding and in depth of the truth of God’s word is highly important, but unless it is filtered and taught through the realities and practicality of its application toward others in our daily lives, I feel that we might be seen as “a loud gong, or a clashing cymbal” (I Corinthians 13:1 God’s Word ©) to unbelievers desperately needing the new life that Christ made available for them.

How practical and with what amount of fervor will you express the gospel message to those around you today?  Have a good day.  Stay in tune to His Word and keep asking yourself… “What am I expecting today?”