1 Peter 1:10-16: a reflection

10Concerning this salvation, the prophets sought and searched diligently. They prophesied of the grace that would come to you, 11searching for who or what kind of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them pointed to when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow them. 12To them it was revealed that they served not themselves, but you, in these things, which now have been announced to you through those who preached the Good News to you by the Holy Spirit sent out from heaven; which things angels desire to look into. 13Therefore prepare your minds for action. Be sober, and set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ— 14as children of obedience, not conforming yourselves according to your former lusts as in your ignorance, 15but just as he who called you is holy, you yourselves also be holy in all of your behavior, 16because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

Peter, having spoken of the salvation the prophets longed to understand, gives his readers a charge: prepare your minds for action, be sober-minded, and set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Notice that phrase: set your hope fully on the grace to come. Not partly, not with one eye on other hopes, but fully, wholly, on the grace that Christ will bring at his coming. And from this hope flows a call to holiness: be holy in all your conduct, for the One who called you is holy.

Notice the call to set our hope fully on the grace to come. Peter does not say set some of your hope, or divide your hope between Christ's grace and other things; he says set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought at Christ's revelation. Our hope is to be wholly fixed on that coming grace, not partly there and partly on other securities. And a hope so fully set on Christ's coming grace shapes how we live now, calling forth holiness, sober-mindedness, readiness.

That call, to set our hope fully on the grace to come, searches where our hope actually rests. We are prone to set our hope only partly on Christ, dividing it between his grace and other things, other securities and expectations. But Peter calls us to set our hope fully on the grace that Christ will bring. Where is your hope set, fully on Christ's coming grace, or divided among other things? Set your hope fully, not partly, on the grace that will be brought to you at Christ's revelation; let it be your whole and settled hope, not one hope among many. And let that fully-set hope shape how you live now, calling forth the holiness Peter urges: be holy, as the One who called you is holy. A hope fully fixed on Christ's coming grace steadies the soul and shapes a holy life; set your hope there, fully, and live as one who awaits that grace.

Lord, Peter charges me to prepare my mind for action, be sober-minded, and set my hope fully on the grace that will be brought to me at the revelation of Jesus Christ, and from that hope flows a call to be holy, for the One who called me is holy. Let that call search where my hope actually rests. I am prone to set my hope only partly on Christ, dividing it between his grace and other things, other securities and expectations. But Peter calls me to set my hope fully on the grace that Christ will bring. Where is my hope set, fully on Christ's coming grace, or divided among other things? Help me set my hope fully, not partly, on the grace that will be brought to me at Christ's revelation; let it be my whole and settled hope, not one hope among many. And let that fully-set hope shape how I live now, calling forth the holiness you urge: help me be holy, as you who called me are holy. A hope fully fixed on Christ's coming grace steadies the soul and shapes a holy life; help me set my hope there, fully, Lord, and live as one who awaits that grace. Fix my hope wholly on your coming grace, and make me holy.