We are in the middle of our study on 1 Peter. A letter sent to a group of churches in Asia Minor who were experiencing the cost of following Jesus. You see, it was a time that bearing the name Christian was a difficult thing to do. It brought great challenges and suffering and tremendous persecution every day – just because they were called Christians.
And in the midst of all of this suffering, they starting thinking to themselves, maybe I should just dump this whole Christianity thing because it’s going to be a lot easier if I just stopped following Jesus and started acting like everybody else.
And some were even thinking that their suffering was some kind of cosmic act of God because God was mad at them or he had forgotten about them.
And that's when Peter steps in and writes this letter of encouragement; letting them know that they are not alone, God hasn’t left you, God isn’t angry with you. He’s as close to you now in your suffering as he’s ever been.
In fact, God has chosen you . . . by his grace; he has set you apart as a holy people and he is doing something spectacular with you.
He takes each of you, who are followers of Jesus, and he places you side by side, living stone, next to living stone and He builds you up into a spiritual house, a place where God's holiness is revealed.
He's not creating a monument. He's not starting a capital campaign. He's creating a movement made up of people who together reflect the glory of God.
After laying out this theological framework, Peter makes this transition as to how this works out in our lives and in our relationships with those who are not Christians.
And in light of what he just said, you'd think that Peter would suggest that the church should shelter itself from the hostile world around them.
But Peter says that Christians are not called to abandon the surrounding culture. Instead, they're to engage culture, with a robust faith, willing to be submissive and to lay aside their rights in order to imitate Christ's example in serving others, even when it's not easy.
Now, he must have known what some of them were thinking . . . Why would I engage and serve people who are mistreating me?
And Peter says, because that’s your calling. That’s your purpose . . . to bless those who don’t deserve it.
And when you do that, when you fulfill your purpose by blessing those who don’t deserve it, something amazing happens . . . you inherit a blessing.
Not the kind of blessing where the person who has been mistreating us finally gets warmed over by all of my kindness and all the good stuff I’ve been giving them and so they’ll bless me in return.
It’s about getting a blessing from God.
It’s about making sure that your relationship with God is what it needs to be. And Peter is saying that if that’s happening what else do we really have to worry about?
Even if those people you’re serving never change, that’s OK because you’re doing everything that God wants of you . . . you’re fulfilling your purpose . . . and for that, God will bless you.
And as we come to this part of his letter, it’s almost as if he stops writing to the church as a whole and begins to speak to each of us individually. Like he pulls each of you aside and he looks you in the eye and says, let me tell you what that means for you.
Notice how this section begins . . . the end of all things is near.
Now remember who wrote this . . . Peter, the guy who just says what he wants to, cuts through the red tape, and gets down to business, right?
And as he was looking at the world around him; the suffering, the persecution, and the injustice, he was pretty sure that the next major event on God’s calendar was the return of Jesus who would bring an end to all of this suffering and injustice, and finally make all things right.
Well, here we are 2,000 years later and the end has not come . . . Jesus has not returned and suffering and injustice is still very much alive and well.
But that doesn’t change what he was saying because there will be a day when Jesus returns and even though we have no idea when that day will be the reality is that the clock of our lives is ticking and the opportunity to accomplish our purpose will soon be over.
And so Peter says because the clock is ticking . . . Be alert, be of sound judgment; don’t get caught up in all that is going on around you but instead begin to see life more clearly as God sees it.
God sees the world through the lens of love, compassion, and grace.
He sees people who are hurting and suffering and people who are hurting others because they’ve been hurt. And this pattern of destruction. And he wants nothing more than to bring justice, and peace, and reconciliation and to extend love to those who don’t deserve love. And compassion to those who don’t deserve compassion. Ya’ll that’s grace.
And Peter says to each of us . . . I need you to see the world like this and the only way to see the world as God sees it is to stay wide awake in prayer. To keep the lines of communication between you and God open.
So often when we pray, we ask God to fix things, remove burdens from our lives, and make our lives easier according to our plan.
But when we see the world through the lens of God’s Grace and love, our prayers change.
Instead of asking God to remove our burdens . . . we ask God how we can be a part of his reconciliation and redemptive plan for the world even if that means taking on burdens and hardship.
And then Peter goes on and says, if you don’t do anything else in this world . . . love one another and do it as if your lives depended on it.
Let’s be honest . . . it’s tough to love some people. Talk about taking on a burden, right?
But the idea here isn’t that we develop feelings, although feelings are nice. He’s talking about relating to each other in an atmosphere of grace. Seeing one another as God see us.
Equally broken and equally loved by God.
And when we see each other like that and love one another like that, it creates and equal playing field and understanding that draws us . . . together . . . back to God where through the sacrifice of Jesus a multitude of sins are covered.
And then he gives us a very specific illustration of love. I don’t exactly know why he chose this particular expression of love but it could be because there were a lot of Christians leaving Rome, the hub of the persecution and they were fleeing to Asia Minor, where these churches were located.
And in that day there weren’t any Marriott Hotels or McDonald’s or 24 hour convenient stores. So when you were traveling you had to rely on the hospitality of strangers who were obligated to invite you into their home, give you a meal, a place to sleep for the night, and then send you on your way.
What Peter was telling them was to express love through hospitality; opening your homes to strangers. And at this time, there could have been a lot of them.
Which is why I love the touch of reality in this command, “without grumbling.” I can picture the whispers: “How long are they going going to stay? Will their kid ever stop crying? Can you believe his appetite?”
Hospitality can be an exasperating task, it comes with a price. You may even feel like grumbling but Peter says, “Be hospitable”. At the very least invite someone you don’t know to lunch. When your express God’s love through hospitality to the stranger, they won’t be a stranger any longer.
But more importantly, they’ll experience God’s love through your actions.
Peter moves on and I can imagine that he is addressing some of them and us very directly, perhaps even holding our head in his hands to make sure we are listening as he says . . .
“You need to use your God given abilities . . . stop make excuses as to why can’t or don’ want to, or that you don’t have time or the energy or the motivation . . . because God has entrusted each of you with something that the church needs in order to be what he designed it to be . . . a place where His glory is revealed.”
The picture he is painting is that of a steward. A steward was responsible for managing someone else’s property and making sure it was used the way the owner intended.
That’s exactly what it’s like with us. God has entrusted each of us with something the whole church needs. When we don’t share it, we’ve taken something that God intended for everyone’s benefit and kept it to ourselves.
And one of the greatest gift you can give to one another is your presence. Just showing up and be present for one another; being available to pray for one another, and encourage one another, and serve one another, to do life with one another, and to revel in God’s love and grace with one another.
And as the world looks to the church, and they see how we interact with one another and with those around us . . . they will see God more clearly for who he is.
Peter has been telling them, "I know life is tough and you're really struggling and you just want to give up but don't lose perspective. This time, this place, these circumstances are all part of God's plan to bring about restoration and salvation for all people. You're suffering isn't something to run from, it's something to embrace because in your suffering he will build you up together, as a church, and as you go out to serve those who do not deserve it, it will give you an opportunity to reveal God's glory to the world."