Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. 1 Peter 2:12 nlt
I came to learn about Catherine Hamlin, a remarkable Australian surgeon, through reading her obituary. In Ethiopia, Catherine and her husband established the world’s only hospital dedicated to curing women from the devastating physical and emotional trauma of obstetric fistulas, a common injury in the developing world that can occur during childbirth. Catherine is credited with overseeing the treatment of more than 60,000 women.
Still operating at the hospital when she was ninety-two years old, and still beginning each day with a cup of tea and Bible study, Hamlin told curious questioners that she was an ordinary believer in Jesus who was simply doing the job God had given her to do.
I was grateful to learn about her remarkable life because she powerfully exemplified for me Scripture’s encouragement to believers to live our lives in such a way that even people who actively reject God “may see your good deeds and glorify God” (1 Peter 2:12).
The power of God’s Spirit that called us out of spiritual darkness into a relationship with Him (v. 9) can also transform our work or areas of service into testimonies of our faith. In whatever passion or skill God has gifted us, we can embrace added meaning and purpose in doing all of it in a manner that has the power to point people to Him.
What has God called you to do? How might you do it today in Jesus’ name?
Jesus, may Your love and grace be evident in my words and deeds today.
INSIGHT
In bold fashion, the apostle Peter refers to both Jewish and gentile readers as a divinely “chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, [and] God’s special possession” (1 Peter 2:9; see Exodus 19:5–6). Then comes the unexpected. Peter urges these same treasured people to bear their favored and exalted status with the humility of “foreigners and exiles” (1 Peter 2:11–12). This contrast of being special and yet in exile (suffering) is important. From the beginning of time, God spoke of people like Adam, Eve, Abram, Isaac, and Jacob (later renamed Israel) as being chosen for the good of the world. Yet being “God’s elect” (1:1) meant more than special treatment. It meant being chosen to show a troubled humanity what it means to experience in Christ the presence, strength, and joy of God in weakness.