June 22 Daily Devotional

Monthly Theme:

Peter's first epistle is addressed to "strangers in the world," who have their homeland in heaven. They are not surprised that they suffer when they do what is right. They follow the footprints of Jesus.

Bible Reading:

1 Peter 3:18–22

Bible Text:

Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous.... [He] has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand (1 Pet. 3:18, 22).

Devotional:

This is a notoriously difficult Bible passage. Usually we say it deals with Jesus' descent into hell. If so, then "hell" should be understood as the place where dead people go (Hades) rather than the place where wicked people are punished (Gehenna).

What is especially shocking and puzzling to us is the fact that this letter was originally written to uneducated slaves who had just become Christians. Apparently they understood the meaning of this passage better than the theologians who have been squabbling over it for centuries.

Peter tells these slaves that when they suffer for doing right, they are in good company. If you are beaten, Peter says, remember this: Jesus' battered body sagged on the cross, but that was not the end of him or of his work. He rose in the might of the Spirit. After that he was no longer limited to a certain time and place. He preached his victory in all corners of the universe and emerged at the highest rank—at God's right hand.

All servants of the Lord who are ill-treated in this world should remember that he who became the slave of all is now sovereign over all. Therefore, in the words of Martin Luther:

Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
the body they may kill: God's truth abideth still;
his kingdom is forever!

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published in 1994. This edition is copyright by Faith Alive Christian Resources, from whom may be ordered Daylight, the predecessor of Twilight.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this edition of Twilight are from the New International Version

Be sure to read the "Preface" and the "Acknowledgments" by the author.