And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

1 Peter 1:17-19

Do you value the blood of Christ as much as Peter does? Notice the train of thought:

• If you call on God as “Father,” you need to do so recognizing that he “judges impartially” and therefore we should live in reverent fear. This undoes the modern American Christian “God is my daddy” mindset which permits and promotes a flippant, childish view of God as a doting Father who gives whatever we want and avoids discipline unless absolutely necessary. We serve a God who is a “consuming fire”! If we will call him our Father, we must understand the implications.

• This means that we must stop the “futile ways” of our forefathers–because we have a new Father. We cannot do this on our own, and as the realization of the impact of our decision to follow God’s law becomes clear, the command to “be holy, as I am holy” should raise a humble dread in our hearts.

• However, we were ransomed. Here’s the key: the righteous judge has reason to bring us to task for our failure to conform to him, but his Son Jesus has stepped in and provided a ransom payment.

• This ransom is no million-dollar payment in a silver briefcase delivered anonymously. This is the precious blood of the spotless lamb of God. In a callback to the Passover, Peter reminds us that Jesus was the only person who could truly pay this debt.

Thus, our sin required the ultimate cost, and Christ paid it, willingly. Thus, his blood–shed for us–is the most priceless gift that any of us can possibly receive!

So, we need to question ourselves: do we live in light of this precious gift? Do we pursue holiness in light of the fact that we are able to do so because of Jesus? That should create a humble pursuit of holiness out of pure thankfulness for what Christ has done. I pray it does!

---

The “Isolation Introspection” series started as an opportunity for me to encoruage members of our Bible Study with daily reflections from the M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan during the 2020 “Stay at Home” mandate in Los Angeles. I’ve moved them here so that they can be shared easily, and perhaps benefit others. I hope you enjoy!