John 6:16-24, 1 Peter 3:1-7, Song of Songs 4:1-7, Jeremiah 50

Recall:
1 Peter 3:1-7 from The Message
The same goes for you wives: Be good wives to your husbands, responsive to their needs. There are husbands who, indifferent as they are to any words about God, will be captivated by your life of holy beauty. What matters is not your outer appearance—the styling of your hair, the jewelry you wear, the cut of your clothes— but your inner disposition.

Cultivate inner beauty, the gentle, gracious kind that God delights in. The holy women of old were beautiful before God that way, and were good, loyal wives to their husbands. Sarah, for instance, taking care of Abraham, would address him as “my dear husband.” You’ll be true daughters of Sarah if you do the same, unanxious and unintimidated.

  The same goes for you husbands: Be good husbands to your wives. Honor them, delight in them. As women they lack some of your advantages. But in the new life of God’s grace, you’re equals. Treat your wives, then, as equals so your prayers don’t run aground.

Reflect:
I was reading this passage in the NRSV and my eyes were glazing over and my mind clouding because it is such a horribly chauvinistic passage. But then I read it in Peterson's paraphrase and he turns it into something beautiful and touching. I so often get hung up on the words of scripture and either accept or reject it. Peterson, however, takes just a step to the side and is able to entirely reimagine it.

Respond:
I need to constantly, continuously engage the scriptures, sifting to find God's words and God's heart.