[241 words]
“The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray” 1 Peter 4:7.
This chapter is pivotal for living a life in Christ! When we become a Christian, we admit that when we lived for “evil human desires,” we made a mess of our lives. Now, we live for the will of God. This does not mean that He fills us to take control over us (that might be nice if He did!). No, but He gives us strength and guidance to “live according to God in regard to the spirit.” Rather than “plunge with [the world] into the same flood of dissipation,” we remember the cost of purchasing us—God’s Son on the cross—and exert self-control. This is why Christianity is not like a membership at a gym that we use to work off guilt from overindulgence—when we feel like going. It is a way of life. Being clear minded and self-controlled is the operating system through which we live, the lens through which we see every moment of every day of every week of every year. We are told to be so…so we can pray! Prayer is not something we just dash off to a God just waiting for us to speak it. We must be living a life in Christ just so we can pray.
How clear minded and self-controlled are you?