For you know that it was not with perishable things such as sliver and gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors. I Peter 1:18
How has silver and gold perished in my presence? Let me count the ways. I have spent these precious metals on needs and wants, I have lost them in couch cushions, bartering has been an optional use and yes, the most valuable things on this earth have gone to rot through my personal neglect. At the end of the day, there is nothing except things….people, with beating hearts that are really worth my time and energy. It wasn’t silver, gold or any other inanimate element that was used to pay the price for eternal peace. It was a pulsing heart, a breathing life, Jesus the Lamb of God.
The missionary Paul planted the early churches, but they were the result of much work and nurturing. Peter, a disciple and very close friend of Jesus, also worked to guide and strengthen the new converts after Pentecost. They suffered much persecution, but the best and the very worst things of this world are irrelevant in the face of God’s everlasting love.
Both Paul and Peter had face to face encounters with the One True God. They were also martyred. They had to chose, eternal life over eternal death, when one or the other was seconds away. Their lives tell their story, they didn’t perish, but the things of this world will, so don’t perish with them.
Love,
Gretchen