Monday-Turn and Seek

They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

1 Peter 3:11,12

Change is everywhere. Technology keeps moving faster and faster. The latest and greatest phone is quickly replaced by something faster. Better. Thinner. Cheaper. Whatever is a fast internet speed today looks as slow as a snail in just a little while.

The most popular song or movie sits at the top of the charts for a few days and then slides so far down till no one can remember what made it so special. The latest in clothing fashions and colors are here today and gone tomorrow.

Popularity is the same way. The most admired stars in the world with the greatest number of social media followers eventually become last week’s news. Whoever’s on top today will fade into the background. The people that everyone wants to see today are destined to be forgotten just as fast.

So, when Peter comes to telling us how to live, he gives us two important and immovable truths. And why can’t they change? Because they are based on who God is. What he’s like. He’s been like this for eternity past and will be the same into eternity future.

• First – Turn from Evil and Do Good.

When we turn from evil, it’s much more important than changing lanes to go around a big truck that’s having trouble making it up a steep hill. Or to pass a someone who’s driving 15 miles per hour below the speed limit. It takes a whole lot more than just turning on our spiritual turn signal and looking to see if anyone’s there.

Turning away from evil starts with leaning away from it. We begin by shifting our weight and start pushing ourselves in another direction. But we don’t stop with just leaning away from evil. We have to actually take steps away from it. We’re willing to do anything and everything to put evil in our rearview mirror.

But there’s more to it that turning away from evil. We have to turn our attention onto doing good. Not just thinking about good, but actually doing good. Doing good changes things. It changes people. It changes lives. It changes communities. It transforms what everyone’s gotten used to and makes it more like how God wants it to be.

• Second – Seek Peace and Pursue It

This isn’t just some one-time going to a peace rally. Not on your life. This is to actively go after peace. You don’t stop till you get to the bottom of the problem and fix it. It’s not enough just to talk about peace. You’re willing to get up and do something about it until peace is achieved. You keep looking up and down until you find it.

Think about the last time you lost your cell phone or wallet. Remember that ache in the pit of your stomach. And then what happened? You tore the house apart till you found it. You went more than a little bit crazy till it was back where it belongs. There’s was no price that you weren’t willing to pay to get it back.

Pursuing peace is just like that. It means to go after it with everything you’ve got. Peace doesn’t just happen all by itself. It takes thought. It takes effort. We have to make a decision and then do whatever it takes to make sure peace is achieved.

When you go fishing, you don’t just go out there without a fishing rod, hooks, or bait. You get all the equipment ready and go to where the fish are. You don’t throw your line out onto the grass in your backyard. Sometimes you drove a long way just so you can be at the right spot, at the right time.

For a minute, we need to ask ourselves the very uncomfortable question; how badly do we want good and peace? What are we willing to give up to bring them home? How desperately do we want them? How much are we willing to sacrifice to make good and peace part of our daily lives? And then, once we have them, what are we willing to do to keep them?

I grew up in a home where there wasn’t a whole lot of peace. There was lots of yelling and screaming. Lots of cursing and outbreaks of anger. As I grew up, I knew that I wanted something very different. I wanted to be a peaceful person. I wanted to marry a woman of peace, and I found her in Mary Ann. I wanted a peaceful home, and was willing to do anything to make it happen.

So, what about you? Have you made a commitment to doing good? Have you started down the road of going after peace? What this world needs isn’t for a certain political party to win. It doesn’t need another faster, cheaper computer.

God is looking for people just like you and me to turn and seek goodness and peace. That’s how the world changes. We need to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God[1]. It’s time for us to turn and seek because God turned and sought us. He ran to you and me[2].

Noodling Questions

Describe a time when someone turned towards you and sent seeking after you.

Why do we go so crazy when we lose something?

How crazy did God go to get you back? How has it changed you?

[1] Micah 6:8

[2] Luke 15:20