“These men divorced their foreign wives, then sent them and their children away” (10:44). I know some of the psalms are awfully bleak but this has to be one of the saddest endings to a biblical book.

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.

“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?

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.

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).

If you have ever had a deep conflict with another person, you know the deep emotional pain that comes with it. There are seasons of anger that are often accompanied by deep grief over a broken relationship. On the other side of this conflict is the joy that comes when we are reconciled with another person – when everything is in the open and love and grace freely flow.

There is a place and a need for humility in our lives. We are all liable to get ourselves into difficult places from time to time, places that require us to bow our heads and perhaps even bend our knees and swallow a large dose of humility. It’s not easy to do because pride is predominant in our human nature. No one wants to admit failure or weakness or defeat.