“After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits— to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it, only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolises baptism that now saves you also…” (1 Peter 3:19-21)

1 Peter 3:18-22

In this letter, Peter reminds us of the faithfulness of God. He reminds the receivers of this letter about how Christ, poor and innocent (like them), was persecuted, suffered and died. Peter reminds them that God remained faithful to Christ as he endured all this. 

He tells them, too, that God’s faithful promise saved Noah and those on the ark with him. The waters of the flood saved Noah, the same water that symbolises our baptism. 

Lent is a reminder of God’s faithfulness to us all. God is always waiting on us, watching and looking out for us and loving us. All this is despite who we are, where we come from, what we have or have not done. 

We are reminded, too, of that day when, through the blessed waters of baptism, we became beloved children of God. God is faithful and connected to us as unique individuals. It is easy for us to become disconnected from this real and true identity in the busyness of our lives. The stresses and challenges of our global world can easily distract us from this knowing.

As you ponder God’s faithfulness today and through Lent, can you claim this identity as God’s beloved child?

Reflections by Gillian Hugo

Loving God,
Through the waters of baptism, 
we are called to be your beloved children. 
Your faithfulness is unending, 
despite who we are and when we forget our unique identity. 
Today and always help us 
to remember our belovedness. 
Amen.

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