Daily Verse: 1 Peter 3:1-2

Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.

 

Anytime we come across a verse about “submission”, the can of worms seems to be opened and the passionate debating begins. But it is not the “wives submit to husbands” part of the text above that grabbed my attention. Rather it is the following: “they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives”. The text is essentially keying on the old adage of actions speak louder than words. There are numerous ways that we can relay the Gospel message to others…but what seems to make the most impact is when we actually LIVE the Gospel message. When we actually display love, forgiveness, humility, charity, grace, mercy and compassion in our lives, we are living the Gospel. And the thing about our world today, when we display characteristics that support the Gospel, people take notice. Not because we are such intriguing and captivating individuals, but rather because it has become extremely rare to see these qualities in our society. In the winner takes all, me first, out of my way society that we live in, seeing a person genuinely display love, respect, humility, grace, and forgiveness is pretty rare…and it tends to capture an audience that rarely witnesses such a sight. We have the choice to choose how we live each day…we can live in a way that lifts up and promotes the Gospel, or we can choose to live in a way that tears it down and hides it in the corner. I pray that we have the courage and discipline to choose the former…that we choose to let our actions lift up the message of Christ to others. And if God opens the door for us to use our words, may we also have the courage to speak words that shine the light on Jesus. To God be the glory!