Gracious

Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:1-5 (NKJV)

This portion of scripture starts off by giving us a list of things that we should not be doing. It seems fairly negative--at least that is what the critics of Christianity would have you believe. How dare God call us away from the antics of malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy and having conversations that hurt and injure other people! Such restrictions cramp our style. (Sarcasm) What the critics miss is the following qualification: "Laying aside all malice, etc...IF indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious."

The Apostle Peter is suggesting that my "good" behavior is predicated on the Lord's graciousness. In other words, God unilaterally treated me with graciousness, causing me to lay aside a lot of egocentric nonsense that I no longer need. Think about our lives in Christ: He graciously rescued us from sin and remains an ardent supporter, so much so that He is at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us!

What can I say? I want to live right. I want to do good. I want to lay aside sin and avoid the consequences thereof! Laying aside vices--walking in spiritual virtue--setting a high standard of personal conduct--all happen to be "things" that I want to do! I want to please God, because He has been miraculously good to me. I am always surprised by Christians who complain about the list of "thou shalt nots" that they somehow "feel" that they are missing out on. There is nothing on that list that I want to do, because, without a doubt, I have indeed tasted that the Lord is gracious.

Prayer: "Dear Father in heaven, blessed be Your name! You are the kindest entity in the universe that You created. You are gracious in times when mankind deserves Your wrath. Thank you for not giving me what I deserve, rather You are my rock, my shield and mighty fortress. You strengthen and encourage me with Your favor. Lord, at times I have been a Prodigal and yet You are always waiting for me to come back home so that You can lavish Your love on me once again. No wonder I want to live for You...You are simply amazing! Amen"