Day 473: It matters to God – 1 Peter 5 vs 6 – 14

6-7 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time.  Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. 8-10 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him,  standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 11 And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To Him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

12 With the help of Silas, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly,  encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it. 13-14 She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark. Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ. 1 Peter 5:6-14 New International Version

Peter, who had been a fisherman by trade, tells us that a man named Silas assisted him in writing this letter. What was the main purpose of the letter? (vs 12)

He wanted to give them encouragement to stand firm in following the message of God's love in Christ Jesus that they had believed. Why did they need to be encouraged to do that? (vs 8-10)

In those days when the Roman Empire was in charge of many nations, and the people of those nations were mostly idol worshipers, being a Christian was often very hard. Not only that, the Bible teaches that there is a real devil who is always looking for opportunities to hurt God's people. One of the names the devil goes by is Satan. That's why Peter reminds them that Christians all over the world were going through similar sufferings to theirs. Persecution of Christians is still worldwide, though not always of the same intensity. What attitude did Peter urge them to take when they experienced hard times, and why were they to do that? (vs 6-7)

To humble oneself, as Peter urged them to do, is to place oneself under the will of someone else. It means accepting what they decide for us and obeying them. That can sound scary. But Peter adds something very precious about the sort of person he is calling them to humble themselves under. A literal translation of the Greek for the words “He cares for you” would be “to Him it matters concerning you.” Peter is saying that their lives mattered to God. Even with whatever weakness and shortcomings they had, they were precious to Him. What would the outcome of that be? (vs 11)

God would set a limit to the trials they were going through and give them strength to face such trials, and to stand firm for Jesus. This doesn't mean that some Christians won't end up dying because of their faith in Jesus, or that some might linger for many years in a prison. But it does mean that God gives the strength Christians need to endure the attacks of the devil that come through the hands of men. That's why he urged them in vs 6-7 to put their anxious thoughts and fears into God's hands.

The closing words of this letter in vs 13-14 speak of a place called Babylon. Babylon in the Bible inevitably stands for a strong enemy of God's people, as well as the kingdoms of the world. In Peter's day it was probably used as a code word for Rome and the Roman empire. It's believed that Peter was himself eventually executed in Rome. So he was probably extending greetings from the Church that was in Rome to the Christians he was writing to. For myself, the lesson to take to heart from this letter of Peter, and especially this last section, is that Christians all over the world must not be surprised at any hostility we may meet up with. If God permits such times to come upon us we must humbly accept His will in the knowledge that He knows what we are going through, and we are precious to Him. That's an encouragement to keep on living in the way Jesus calls us to live, and to not give up the life changing hope and truth that we have received.