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Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. (1 Peter 1:17)

Every passage in Scripture has some key words to pay attention to.  You can never read a verse without taking the time to study it and understand it’s meaning for your life.  I often take a passage of Scripture and help others apply it to their lives.  This time I will break down this passage and apply it to my life word by word.  Please do the same in your own life.  Take the key words that I mention and define them for yourself.  What do they mean in your life?   What is the application in your life?  How will you live this passage out?  I can write these devotionals five days a week, but I can’t live them out for you.  You need to read God’s Word, study it, and live it out.  Let’s do things a little differently today!

“Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially…”

I am diving deep into the beginning of this passage because I know I need my Father to never see me any differently than He sees anyone else.  I love the word impartially.  God is fair, He is just, and He is never partial.  He sees me for who I am and continues to make me better day by day.  I never have to worry if He will think I’m good enough.  I never have to fear Him ignoring me.  I never have to wonder if He will give up on me.  No, He loves me just as I am.  There is no number one Christian in God’s book and there is no one at the bottom of the list either.  I’m so grateful for that.  The pressure is off.  I’m the one running my race and God wants me to be focused on Him, not the Christian next to me that I think may be running a better race.

“…live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.”

The key words in this part of the passage are strangers and reverent.  I love to be reminded that though I am living my life on this place called earth, it’s not my home.  I am a stranger.  There is such a comfort in my soul every time I read that word in Scripture.  I don’t know about you, but I pause every single time I read that word because I am reminded that I was made for something so much bigger.  Earth cannot contain the glorious plans that God has up His sleeve for my life.  Sure my temporary life will be lived out in great ways for God on this earth, but my eternal life is beyond anything my imagination can come up with.  I will be in the presence of God forever.  Wow!

Then I see the word reverent.  Every time I see this word, I brace myself to see what will follow.  God deserves my reverence.  But what comes next is what we need to pay attention to.  The next word is fear.  How do we reverently fear God?  To give God reverence is to honor Him in worship, to adore Him.  These two words fit perfectly together when we realize that we honor God with our words, our actions, our thoughts, and our lives.  We must fear the times when we have been unfaithful to God, the times when we have yet to forgive someone, the times when we have grieved God’s heart, and all the times we miss opportunities to share the love of Jesus.  I can and will reverently fear God with my life by embracing His Word daily.  I pray my thoughts, words, and actions will be seasoned with His grace.

Keys to Grasp

1.  God is not impartial!

2.  You are a stranger on this earth!

3.  Live in reverent fear before the Lord!

Dear Father God, Thank You for continuing to open Your Word to me and speak to my heart through it.  I’m so grateful that You are an impartial God who loves me dearly.  Thank You for reminding me that this is not my home.  Help me to consistently live my life in reverent fear before You!

One more Stranger on this Earth,