Finding Grace and Peace
The first words of 1 Peter are a greeting from Peter. Sometimes it’s easy to skip over the greeting part of a book of the BIble, because it is like the envelope a letter comes in. We toss the envelope because we think what matters is what’s inside. But there have been times when I needed the contact information on that envelope and didn’t have it because I didn’t pay attention to the envelope.
The first couple of verses of 1 Peter are worth paying attention to. They give us the who, what, where, and why of the book.
“This letter is from Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ. I am writing to God’s chosen people who are living as foreigners in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and His Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed Him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. May God give you more and more grace and peace.” 1 Peter 1:1-2 (NLT)
The who, what, where, and why of 1 Peter:
Who: Peter wrote this book. This is the Peter who was part of Jesus’ inner circle of disciples. He was a fisherman. He was married. He traveled. He left everything to follow Jesus. He’s the one who got out of the boat and tried to walk on water and failed. He is the one who said: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” He was the one who told Jesus, “I will never leave you or deny You. Everyone else may go away, but I will never go away.” And then he denied Jesus three times. He is the one 50 days later who stood up and preached fearlessly and 3000 people became Christians. Peter is the who.
Where: This is written to the exiles of the dispersion–a reference to how Jewish and Gentile believers were scattered all over the known world. Specifically, he mentions places which are in present-day Turkey.
How: The Spirit makes us more and more like Jesus as He working in our life.
Why: So we can live lives of obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ.
What: For grace and peace to be multiplied in what God wants for us.
HOW CAN GRACE AND PEACE BE MULTIPLIED IN OUR LIVES WHEN OUR CIRCUMSTANCE ARE UNCERTAIN?
“…Grace and peace be yours in abundance.” 1 Peter 1:2d
This can be a really frustrating desire. How can us exiles have grace and peace? After all, I’m an exile–I’m not where I’m supposed to be.
It is all about where you look–at the storm, at the circumstance or you look to God. You either see what you don’t have instead or instead you see an all-powerful God who is my Heavenly Father and you see His Spirit refining you and helping you to see what is important. And you get to look more and more like your Heavenly Father as time goes on.
I also see He has a purpose and plan for me. Even being an exile is with the fore-knowledge of God. God knows what He is doing. He has a plan in it. If God is my Heavenly Father–how can I not have grace and peace? And not just have it–but have it in ever increasing measure.
Whatever grace and peace we experience and feel–it is not based on our circumstance or storm, it’s based on our identity in who we are, it’s based on the fact that God the Father has loved us first and He is changing us from the inside out. Because of that reality we can have grace and peace in increasing ways.
So, no matter what your circumstances look like today–our world can be scary–and if you feel out of place right now, and life hasn’t gone like you hoped it would–I pray you would not just look at circumstances, but you would turn to God to see what He has to say about who you are and what you’re called to right now and what He has for you.