From Suffering to Salvation: 1 Peter

Do you ever think about eternity? As a little kid, I used to lie awake at
night, thinking about what it would be like to live forever and ever and
ever—with no end. An eternal life with God! There was no way to wrap my
mind around the idea. No matter how many zeroes I put on the end of the
number of years, it would still be just a beginning to eternity.

This is the perspective that the apostle Peter wanted his readers to have
when they read his letter to them—we now call this letter “1 Peter.” In it,
Peter is writing to believers in the early church during a time of
suffering and persecution. Although he addresses their suffering in much of
the letter, Peter wants them to remember their “living hope,” their eternal
salvation and their “inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade…kept
in heaven” (1:3-4). The “little while” that believers have to “suffer grief
in all kinds of trials” (1:6) cannot be compared to the eternal salvation
that awaits God’s children. Jesus will return and unite heaven and earth,
and everyone who has put their trust in Jesus will live and reign with Him
forever. Even now we can be filled with “an inexpressible and glorious joy”
(1:8) as we rest in Jesus’s love for us and anticipate eternity with Him.

Peter also reminds his readers they are “a chosen people, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession” (2:9). He encourages
them to remember that, even if they suffer for doing good, ultimately they
will be blessed for doing what is right. Since “the end of all things is
near” (4:7), believers should live self-controlled lives that are marked by
prayer. “Above all, love each other deeply,” Peter urges, “because love
covers over a multitude of sins” (4:8).

Suffering is temporary. Our salvation in Christ is for all eternity! These
themes in 1 Peter have encouraged believers ever since he wrote them two
thousand years ago. • Laura N. Sweet

• Have you ever stopped to really think about eternity? What amazes you the
most about eternal life with Christ—which is promised to everyone who has
put their trust in Jesus, believing He died on the cross and rose from the
grave for us?

• When we are going through hard times, why might it be helpful to remember
that our suffering will only last a little while compared to living forever
with Jesus in renewed creation? How might looking forward to Jesus’s return
affect the way we live now?

In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 1 Peter 1:3 (NIV)

Read Verses:

1 Peter 3:13-1 Peter 3:18; 1 Peter 4:7-1 Peter 4:8; 1 Peter 1:3-1 Peter 1:9