Sometimes the end helps make sense of the beginning. One thing I enjoy in a well-written book is seeing how the details all get pulled together. Sometimes it’s obvious–there’s a good chance that they guy who drowned and whose body was never found is not as dead as everyone thinks he is. But often there are little turns that bring a satisfying conclusion: the gift the hero rejected becomes the key to his victory. The heroine ran from relationships at the beginning, but she ends the movie surrounded by her family. The peasant girl who thought she was friendless and powerless accepts her identity as the daughter of the king. The end puts the beginning into perspective.
In 1 Peter 1:3-9, Peter writes as one who knows the end makes sense of the beginning. As we saw last week, Peter is writing to exiles–believers who live as strangers in the world, not in spite of being chosen but because they are chosen. As we do, they struggled with the tension of living distinctly in the world while still proclaiming a loving witness to the world. Peter writes to encourage them and give them advice on how to both live holy and love well. But first, he opens with thanksgiving.
Letters in the ancient world often began with thanksgiving. Peter adapts this to his ends, using the thanksgiving in 1 Peter 1:3-9 to direct praise to God and outline the basic themes of the letter. One of the major themes of Peter is how our future hope gives us present peace. The end of our story makes sense of our beginning; we can endure the sufferings of our present because we know the certainty of our future victory.
You could outline Peter’s opening prayer of thanksgiving in 1 Peter 1:3-9 like this:
- Praise be to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
- Because in his mercy he has given us a living hope
- A living hope that is grounded in the resurrection from the dead
- And gives us an inheritance that will never pass away
- And we also are protected by the power of God until we receive that great inheritance
- Because in his mercy he has given us a living hope
- And so we rejoice
- Even though we suffer trials
- For these trials prove our faith genuine
- And refine our character
- That we may glorify God when Jesus Christ returns
- Even though we suffer trials
- Though we have never seen Christ, we love him
- And though we still do not see him, we believe in him
- And our faith fills us with inexpressible and glorious joy
- For we are confident we are receiving the end result of our faith: the salvation of our souls.
- And our faith fills us with inexpressible and glorious joy
- And though we still do not see him, we believe in him
Do you see how Peter put the emphasis on the end of our stories–the day of Christ’s return and the future salvation of our souls? Sometimes we can be a little strange in how we handle the biblical teaching about Christ’s return. One one hand, sometimes we wind up obsessing over Daniel and Revelation, making charts and trying to timeline out every little detail. And then sometimes we treat it as an afterthought, focusing on having our best life now or somehow trying to unravel all of God’s plans for us.
I believe God has good plans for his children. But I also know the reality of living in a fallen world. Jesus told us that in this world we will have trouble. But he also told us we can have peace in him (John 14:33). Christ has overcome, and we can have peace and joy–not by escaping our trials but by living well in the midst of them.
And the knowledge of our future helps us make sense of our now. Christ will return to judge sin and usher in the new creation. On that day, those of us who are in Christ will receive our inheritance: the salvation of our souls. How we live now will bring Christ glory on that day, and we will enter the joy of his kingdom forever. We know the ending, and the ending gives us joy today.
For more reflection:
How does your knowledge of Christ’s return help you cope with the present sufferings and hard times of this world?
What are some ways in which God uses suffering to refine us? How has your character been refined by suffering?
What do you think it means that God has given us a living hope? How does Christ’s resurrection make that living hope possible?
13 comments
We have to go on about our Father’s business
I enjoyed this post, Leigh. I have learned there is truly a fellowship of His suffering – a degree of intimacy we gain with the Lord when we are suffering, especially for His sake. But also, when our trials are personal. He is near to the brokenhearted. He delights in making Himself known to His children. It has been through my personal trials that I’ve learned the tenderness of His care. How beautiful is that? The Creator of the Universe, the Almighty God in all His majesty and power loves me tenderly when I’m hurting. I would have never known this side of Him if not for suffering a broken heart. I’m so thankful He revealed Himself to me in this way … so very thankful.
Thanks Nan. I think one of the things we can see in 1 Peter is that suffering is an opportunity for us to draw closer to God and experience his grace and mercy. I’m grateful for your story of how God shown his tenderness to you in your trials.
I loved this. I’ve never thought about I Peter 1 as Peter looking at the end of the story but it is so true. I tell people “you have to learn to connect the dots of what God is doing.” Yes, see the end of the story.
Thanks! One of the big themes of 1 Peter is how our belief in Christ’s return should impact our present experience, especially in terms of our ethics and our evangelism. And that’s a relevant message for us at this point in history.
I believe the hope is in letting us know that no sufferings in this life can compare to the joy in life with Christ. Those who suffer with him, will rain with him.
will “reign” with him.
🙂
That’s definitely part of it. Thanks for taking the time to comment!
The hope of Jesus’ return helps me not to despair about our nation’s situation or current election. It helps me not to feel despair over how things are going in my personal life. I know that He will make things right, and until then, He will guide me.
Such a timely post and filled with real truth — thank you for sharing this.
Leigh, Thank you for taking the time to study and write about Peter. A living hope strengthens me daily to persevere knowing that joy comes in the morning, there will be no more tears and pain, and I will see the face of my Savior one day.
I love this line: “…our future hope gives us present peace.”
Comments are closed.