Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. I Peter 1:3
The persecution of Christians in Rome was horrific but had been somewhat contained until the Emperor encouraged enemies of Christians across the Empire to take every advantage to annihilate them. It is believed that Peter wrote this letter shortly after Paul’s martyrdom and sent it to the churches Paul established to encourage and fortify them for the days to come. In this atmosphere of suffering Peter reminds everyone that Christ’s work of grace and salvation was through suffering.
There is nothing for Christians in looking back. We are born again, into a new living hope, a great gift from God, His love for us fulfilled. Peter, face to face, denied Christ in the very moment of Christ’s great agony. He knew the shame of sin and weakness of resolve. Three frightening, excruciating days later he was face to face with a risen Savior. He found grace, only grace. NO condemnation. He knows the joy he speaks.
Peter wasn’t special because of his time and place in history, he was merely a man, a sinner saved by grace and that is all. His words of praise must be our beacon and faith in the storms that will come our way too.
Love,
Gretchen