The Herd

The first time I actually studied 1 Peter, I was in a college course.  I was taught how to grammatically breakdown the scriptures, understand the main themes and shown where to look for additional historical and theological context.  My eyes were open but my heart was still cold.  I felt that for a 21 year old college student, I had been hardened by the world and taught of its ugliness.  I was bitter, I was cold, and I was only excited to learn that this suffering is all a part of the plan.  It wasnt until recently, when I was writing a bible study for a group of young adults, that my eyes were opened to the beauty of Peter’s writing in this letter.  

In the first chapter, the apostle Peter introduces a powerful concept; a Christians “new birth into a living hope.” By looking into the first chapter of Peters letter to the exiles, I hope to show you a letter of encouragement, hope, and a way to find actual joy amidst the suffering.

Peter’s proclamation of a ‘new birth into a living hope’ underscores the transformative nature of Christs death and resurrection.  Through faith in Christ, believers are spiritually reborn, to drink of the spiritual milk provided by the scriptures, and ushered into a new existence defined by the hope that transcends the temporal trials and struggles of this fallen world.  Moreover, this hope is living, meaning it is dynamic and rooted in the resurrected power of our living Lord Jesus Christ. 

In John 1:12-13, the reader encounters the profound truth that those who receive Christ and believe in his name are given the right to become his children.  This image implies a birth that has to come as anyone who becomes a child in the literal human sense.  This passage parallels the new birth Peter speaks of , emphasizing that not only are we reborn in a spiritual sense, but that the family we are born into is God’s family that is not defined or constrained by human limitations. 

Furthermore, Galatians 4:4-7 reinforces the concept of a new birth through its message of redemption.  In the fullness of time, God sent his son, born of a woman, to redeem those under the law, so that they might receive the adoption into a holy inheritance.  Believers are not only the children of God, but heirs of God and Christ.  

The “living hope” that Peter speaks of is deeply intertwined with the concept of inheritance.  As children of God, there is an “imperishable, undefiled, and unfading inheritance,” kept in heaven for us (1 Peter 1:4). The beauty of this passage that my younger self failed to embrace, is the message that despite the trials, despite the failures, and despite the “realities” this world throws at us, God guarantees our place in his bloodline because of what Christ did on the cross.  

In the midst of trials, our living hope assures us that we are not alone, for Christ is with us.  The purpose of the trials is not to test our strength as broken sinners, but to show God’s glory in our reliance.  Our hope empowers us to persevere, to rejoice in our sufferings, “knowing that they produce endurance, character, and ultimately, hope” (Romans 5:3-5).

As we move into a year of elections, political strife, personal trials that take tolls on our families, friends, and communities, I see a reason to believe that we are the exiles Peter was writing to all those years ago.  It is easy to get sucked into the pain that comes with a fallen world, but to know that our hope is one that transcends all circumstances, we can rest our hearts on the one who has accepted us into his family, into his inheritance, and holds are place regardless of the pressures weighing on us from day to day.  Let us embrace this living hope, since it is the only thing that will remain true.