1 Peter 1:24-25

NASB	NLT	VOICE
24 For, “All flesh is like grass, And all its glory is like the flowers of grass. The grass withers, And the flower falls off,	24 As the Scriptures say, “People are like grass; their beauty is like a flower in the field. The grass withers and the flower fades.	24 For as Isaiah said, All life is like the grass, and its glory like a flower; The grass will wither and die, and the flower falls,
25 But the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word which was preached to you.	25 But the word of the Lord remains forever.” And that word is the Good News that was preached to you.	25 But the word of the Lord will endure forever. This is the word that has been preached to you.

Grass Dies. Flowers Fade.

In biblical times, grass was a common metaphor for frailty and temporality. It’s a reminder to Christians that our existence on earth is fleeting, but God is eternal. The beauty and glory of humanity includes things like our achievements and our strengths. Flowers are short-lived, showing that our accomplishments and strengths are temporary. While this may be an unfamiliar concept to use, it would have familiar in Peter’s cultures because the fowers int he Middle-East bloom quickly and die fast. The death of nature serves as a reminder of our mortality.

Successes of This World

Our successes in this world are not coming with us in the afterlife. They are just temporary positive moments in our earthly life. It sounds harsh, but it is true. How many times have you heard something about how you can’t take money into heaven or something related to that? Does this mean that we shouldn’t strive for success in our world? Of course not. We should definitely strive to live the best life that God has called us to live. We need to make sure that we are not attaching our value to those worldly successes. The ability of our success comes from our God, the one who created us and imbued in us the skills, talents, and ability to go out and do everything that we can. When we attribute our success to God and not give ourselves, we are sharing our humility, building our testimony, and extending our worship to our Heavenly Creator. 

God’s Eternal Word

In the New Testament context, the eternal world is often associated with the teachings of Jesus. The enduring nature of God’s world assures Christians how permanent and reliable God’s Word is. The early Christian community that Peter was writing to, composed of Jewish and Gentile believers scattered throughout Asia Minor. The word that was preached to them was the apostolic preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, His death, and resurrection. 

Working to Apply the Word

As believers, we are called to immerse ourselves in the Bible. We need to allow it to guide our decisions and shape our lives. Sometimes, it can be a struggle to do this. When we start reading the Bible in Genesis, we can get caught up in the literal storytelling of the Creation of the world and the hardships we find of both the characters, and the women and children that are being unfairly treated. Then we get to Leviticus and completely lose interest in the Bible altogether. We start to believe that God is an awful, angry god and that we’re not going to follow this god because it seems like it’s a bunch of rules and severe punishment. Peter was calling people to hold on to the preaching of the Gospel. They were learning the ministry of Jesus and the significance of His death and resurrection. When we start there, I truly believe that we see God in a completely different god. One that is based on love and compassion, wanting to ensure all of creation is cared for in the same way He cares for it. When we start to see this and the accomplished work of God in the ministry of Jesus, we can work towards understanding this reflecting His work and will to the entire world. This is how we can use the message of the Bible to guide our decisions and shape our character: Is what we are doing an accurate reflection of who God is?

Reflection Questions

1. What is your response to the flowers and grass analogy?
2. What do you recommend for new Christians: start your Bible reading with the Gospel Messages or start your Bible reading with Genesis? 
3. How do you see your love and care for others reflect the love of Christ?

Call to Action

Read Matthew 24:35. Express thanks for His Word always being prevalent, helpful, and accurate for all times of reality. Ask God for clarity about the things that you are struggling with. Ask Him for key Scriptures that can help bring clarity to your situation so that you can embrace the strength of God in your circumstance.

Check out the next slice of manna: Manna for the Mind #292