Daily Thought

The emphasis on suffering throughout this letter reminds us that even though we are a people linked with eternity, we are also creatures of time. However, the prospect of our eternal blessings ought to have an impact upon our lives now. Today’s meditation challenges us as to our attitude towards time.

‘The rest of his time‘, vv. 1, 2. Christ has ‘suffered for us in the flesh’; therefore, this ought to inspire us to arm ourselves ‘with the same mind’ for the battles ahead, v. 1. Indeed, the believer who has suffered is the believer who knows what it is to have died to sin, cp. Rom. 6. In the light of Christ’s sufferings we should not waste the rest of our time pandering to the flesh, but rather seeking to pursue God’s will.

‘The time past of our life‘, vv. 3-6. It is beneficial to look back on past times and to remind ourselves that former conduct ought to remain in the past, v. 3. Our previous associates will find it difficult to accept the change in our lives, but ultimately God will judge them, vv. 4, 5. Peter encourages us by pointing to believers who have died, who had the gospel preached to them while they were here and believed. Men judged them as worthy of persecution in this life, but they are alive in heaven.

‘The end of all things‘, vv. 7-11. We do not know the exact time, but we are told that it ‘is at hand’, v. 7. This should have an impact upon our lives in the present. We are called upon to be clear thinking, watchful, prayerful, earnest in our love toward each other, willingly hospitable, and ready to use our spiritual gifts for the benefit of others, vv. 8-10. Whether our service is in word or deed it should bring glory to God, v. 11.

‘For the time is come‘, vv. 12-19. It is a sobering thought that ‘the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God’, v. 17. It is not retributive, but corrective judgement; however, it ought to serve as a warning to those who disobey the gospel that God will judge them, vv. 17, 18. However, as Christians we are able to view ‘fiery trials’ as allowed by God to purify and cleanse us. We can rejoice that we are sharers of Christ’s sufferings, be happy that we are reproached for His name, and feel no shame, vv. 13, 14, 16.