Living With an Eternal Perspective: A Guided Reading of Peter's Letter to the Persecuted ChurchSample

To set the scene, decades have passed since the Resurrection of Jesus. The Gospel is on the move and spreading rapidly beyond Jerusalem and Judea. The Church puts down roots all over, and their Greek and Roman neighbors take notice.

The apostle Peter, the same Peter who walked next to Jesus during the entirety of His earthly ministry, commissions a circular letter to be written to all churches in the Roman-controlled provinces of Asia Minor (Modern-day Turkey).

The purpose of this letter: To encourage believers enduring persecution.

Peter himself endured rebukes, beatings, arrests, and imprisonments, not to mention his own catalog of personal failures like denying Jesus three times (Luke 22:54-62).

How do you come back from that? How do you persevere? How do you not lose hope?

It’s a matter of perspective.

We’re only here for a little while - travelers passing through on our way to eternity. So then, what do we do? How do we not just survive the circumstances of our earthly lives, but live in light of the fact that eternity really is on the horizon?

We look to Jesus as the ultimate example of how to live in light of eternity.

Jesus lived on earth for only a “little while”. Less than forty years! His ministry only lasted a “little while”. Only three years! But, in that time, He secured for us “an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and will not fade away…” (1 Peter 1:4 NASB). Jesus, knowing the full scope of eternal glory with God, offered Himself in a glorious exchange so we might experience the same. He endured the worst humanity had to offer for humanity’s benefit. He did it all with His eyes locked on the Father in eternity. So how do we do the same?

Through his pain and suffering, Peter learned to keep His eyes on Jesus and on the eternity we are promised with Him. He understood that “The grass withers, and the flower falls off, but the Word of the LORD endures forever.” (1 Peter 1:25 NASB)

Questions to Ponder:

What in your life right now occupies most of your thoughts? A relationship? School? Family? Work? Past frustrations? Future fears? Take some time to audit your thoughts from the last few days and jot down what comes to mind.

Now try to link those thoughts to your actions. When you worried about the school project, did you revert to an anxious habit? Where do your thoughts lead?

Summarize the typical perspective with which you go about your days. Take it before the Lord and determine if it should be adjusted.