"Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed." - Peter 3:13-14
I was looking up the scriptures for this week in the lectionary. I was having trouble connecting with any of them. I meant to flip to James 3:13, but it is a short book, and I mistakenly ended up at Peter 3:13. God works in mysterious ways!
I was struggling with something interesting this week. There was a guy I once dated. His brother had passed away. And, at the time I had been dating him, I had pre-arranged to send flowers for his brother's birthday just to say that I was thinking of him and was sorry for his grief.
Well, I had debated whether to cancel the flower order. Is it strange to get flowers from a former lover? We didn't go out for that long, will he think I'm a stalker if I send flowers? Why send them for the anniversary of his birthday instead of his death? Am I really the person he would want to hear from on such an occassion? Would he question how/why I even know/remember his brother's birthday?
That being said, I was ready to call up the flower shop and beg to cancel the order.
Then I found the passage from Peter. And I thought... what was my goal in sending the flowers? To let this person know I was thinking of him and was sorry for his grief! So is that still the goal, regardless of the relationship status and without want for anything in return? Yes! So I should still send them... because it is from a place of righteousness and goodness.
Peter is a great book, a great guiding compass to those who are lost.
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