“Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:13).
In spite of the trials and persecutions Peter’s recipients have undergone, they are to forge ahead with an assured hope and an unfailing faith: after all, theirs is a living hope based on the resurrection of Jesus and a solid faith based on their knowledge of God.
In this metaphor, to “gird” means “to gather up,” referring to the custom of gathering up their long, flowing robes when they need to run or work. “Loins” refers to “all aspects” of their “mind.”
“Sober” refers to being “calm, collected, and temperate,” primarily meaning to exercise self control. “Rest” means “base,” that is, they are to base their hope completely on Jesus who came to the earth and sacrificed Himself as a result of the loving grace God wanted to extend to mankind.
The message: Because of the living hope we have, as a result of the resurrection of Jesus, we must gather up all of the hindrances to our spiritual development, deal with them or set them aside, and move forward, looking to the reward that awaits the faithful.
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