Greetings Sisters and Brother, Spiritual exiles in a
dog-eat-dog world…
1 Peter 1:1,2
Peter, an apostle of
Jesus Christ,
To God’s
elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of
Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2 who
have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through
the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ
and sprinkled with his blood:
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Since we will be watching a dvd series on
Simon Peter this month (13, 20, 27 at 11am), I thought I would use the
Wednesday encouragement as a means to draw out Peter’s wisdom.
Regarding verses 1 and 2: Please note he
uses the nick-name Jesus gave him (Peter) rather his birth certificate name,
Simon. It is likely that he needed no introduction to the people he was
writing. It seems they would know him well.
The exiles he mentioned are probably
Christ followers, who had learned under his authority rather than Paul’s (though
Paul would have become well known also). Thes Christ followers are now “out in
the world” and there may be influences that cause them to suffer.
Like Abraham being a sojourner, and the
exiles in Babylon, the expectation is to be faithful to Christ while also being
a good neighbor or citizen in the land to which they (and we ) have traveled.
I think Peter is saying to Christians what
God, through Jeremaih said to the Israelites…Jeremiah 29: 4 This
is what the Lord Almighty,
the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem
to Babylon: 5 “Build houses
and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find
wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may
have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. 7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of
the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.
Let us, as Christians in
an uncomfortable land, continue to be faithful yet good neighbors to those
around us.
Peace, Mike
