Only for a Little While

Read 1 Peter 5  

1 Peter 5 is Apostle Paul’s exhortation to the elders and the younger generation of the Christian churches in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. The key idea of the entire epistle is to encourage the believers scattered in the said places to persevere through suffering. Peter, who knows what suffering is through his personal experiences, uplifts the believers that there is hope amid suffering. He urges them to bear the pain of their fidelity to Christ that comes their way.  

Suffering is a word not new to us. In some jokes, they say having no WIFI or internet connection is a suffering already. Well, those kinds of hardships are nothing compared to the sufferings of the believers during the early days of Christianity. Whatever difficulties we might be going through, Peter’s encouragement is that our suffering is only for the “now” and is “only for a little while.” We are not alone in our journey. It is important to always have people who will lift us up and walk with us in our journey of faith. To our afflictions, the unity that brings all believers together extends — we suffer together, we bear one another’s burden, we are extending mercy, love, and kindness to one another. 

Therefore, let us listen to the call of Peter to raise our eyes to the splendid hope to which we have been called by God. With glorious inevitability, our eternal inheritance awaits us.