“Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.” (1 Peter 1:13)

Today’s verse comes packed with three truths to explore. First, we are called to “be holy,” which can be understood as being set aside for God. The second truth is God sent His Son to save us while we were still sinners. Meaning that it is only through the grace of our Lord that we were saved. And lastly, Christ Jesus will return again. Peter crafted this verse in a way that combines these three truths in a single elegant statement. He starts with calling us to be “alert and fully sober.” Now I don’t believe Peter is calling us to a life of sobriety without alcohol, he is really using these words as an analogy that would have been easy for his readers to relate to. To understand this a bit more, think about your reaction to smelling smoke in your house. Chances are you’re not going to sit back in the recliner and flip on the TV. The sense of danger will heighten your senses and you’ll search the home to find the issue. Peter is more likely saying that sin is on fire all around us and we need to stay alert and be diligent, remaining separated from the dangerous effects of sin. This is what it means to be sober, it is to be holy and put aside for God’s use – not indulging in the fiery sin around us. But luckily God is good and understands our trials. Because even with our best attempts in spiritual sobriety from sin, we need only put our hope in the grace of God and not our self-efforts. And we do all of this in eager anticipation of Christ’s return. So bringing the parts of this verse together we have; be holy, staying alert and refraining from sin – understand that God saves because of His mercy and grace for us – Christ Jesus will return.