Peter presents to us things that are contrary to human nature (humbleness and humility, servanthood, submission to authority).  He also presents ideas that are contrary to each other.  He tells us that we are free from slavery to this world, but we are servants of God.  Being in the family of God we are no one’s slave (boss, parent, government, etc.) and yet as free people we are sent into the structures of this world to be servants.  And in within those structures we may face suffering and persecution, trials and challenges that will try to diminish our newfound joy and freedom.  The key focus of Peter’s letter is to remind us to believe the things that have been promised to us.  To let those things be the ground on which we walk, never allowing anything to take away our confidence in what God has spoken.

The persecution of the early church in the time of Nero’s reign was brutal.  Paul was beheaded, John was boiled in oil, many martyrs were dressed in clothes hardened with wax and lit on fire to “illuminate” the streets of Rome.  And yet the church continued to grow by the thousands.  The heavenly inheritance that Peter describes in the beginning of his letter and encourages us to rejoice in was what they put their faith in.  They knew what could happen to them for believing in Christ and yet the heavenly promises far outweighed any earthly consequence.

Is the church today just as fearless and steadfast in its faith?  Am I?  I had to ask myself what it would look like for me if I were threatened with being burned alive for my faith in Jesus.  Would I be able to stand up say, “Go ahead and burn this body, I’ve been promised a new one!  A glorified one!  One that can never be defiled or corrupted!”  If I were threatened with imprisonment, would I be able to stand up and say, “By the blood of Jesus I am free!  You can put shackles on my body, but no chains can detain my spirit for I have already been translated from death into life!”  Would I be able to view any suffering to my flesh as an opportunity to proclaim the abundance of glory that my spirit has inherited and already possesses?  I don’t know.  But I pray that God would make this heavenly inheritance so real and vivid to me that I wouldn’t disappoint Him if it came to that.

Peter encourages us to be like minded with Jesus.  He knew there was purpose in His suffering, that the end result of joy would far exceed the “momentary” pain and anguish He experienced.  And so, Peter encourages us to rejoice in the midst of suffering, for like Jesus, we will experience glory beyond what we can ever imagine.  And to love others in such a way that will draw them to the Father, that they may join us in these eternal promises.

“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen, you love.  Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith – the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:6-9 NKJV).