A Living Hope

Who needs a message of hope? We all do, of course, yet hope has special meaning for people living under adverse conditions. The earliest audiences for the letter of 1 Peter were small groups of Christians under attack, little bands of exiled believers huddling in scattered communities.

This Too Shall Pass

“Live in reverent fear during the time of your exile” (1:17). Exile means living in a place not truly home. To be exiled is to be alienated, perhaps in conditions that sap our ability to actually be the person we long to be. What is the best way to behave in these circumstances?

Read More intentionality, discipline, exile

Not Easily Satisfied

People who are in touch with the living God are not satisfied with things that blind us to godliness (pride and sensuality chief among them). Once we have a sense of our own frailty and mortality in the light of God’s perfection and saving grace, we will want to be more godlike. Spiritual growth is of more lasting importance than any riches or acclamation.

Beyond Words

The metaphors pile up as Peter works to provide insight into the character and role of Christian communities and their members. The people of God are pictured as stones, as building blocks in a spiritual house (2:5). They are, moreover, “God’s chosen and special people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation” (2:9).

Read More belonging, church, cornerstone, vocation, mercy

Tread Lightly

A sense of estrangement permeates the book of 1 Peter. It addresses its readers as exiles and aliens, people who don’t fully belong in the place where they live. Ethnicity and geography were factors, no doubt. Even more significant is how communities centred on gospel grace are at odds with the culture in which they live.

Redefine “Weaker”

“Be beautiful in your heart by being gentle and quiet” (3:4).

This passage is troubling in these egalitarian times, for it appears to give biblical sanction to a patriarchal view of women. Indeed, complementarian Christians often cite it as a mandate to keep women in their place.

Read More beauty, weakness, gentleness, women, honour

Keep a Clear Conscience

A Christian view of the world encourages high standards of conduct. It demands a refined conscience and a keen sense of appropriate behaviour. The lists of do’s and don’ts do not spring from rigid rule-making, but, rather, from a desire for relational harmony. “All of you should agree and have concern and love for each other. You should also be kind and humble” (v 8).

Maintain Constant Love

Things change when people choose to orient their lives around Christian beliefs. Their interests and activities take a different course. Certain behaviours and previously pleasurable pastimes no longer seem to satisfy. Former associates may be confused by what they see; others will be angry.

Letting go of “worldly” activities and hanging out with different friends may well open one to ridicule and abuse.

Continue To Do Good

“Let those suffering in accordance with God’s will entrust themselves to a faithful creator, while continuing to do good” (4:19 NRSV). This is a good summary of 1 Peter’s theology of suffering. It does more than acknowledge the reality of persecution and suffering; it expects it and accepts it as an element of God’s will.

But not just any suffering qualifies. Suffering caused by unethical and criminal behaviour is not within God’s will.

Humility Suits You

“Clothe yourselves with humility” (5:5). It’s striking how often the Bible’s writers encourage humility, frequently enough to suggest that people have a recurring problem with pride. I immediately think of rulers in our world and leaders I have known whose pride is astronomical.