1st Peter 5:10. “But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.” A WIDER PERSPECTIVE. God knows you, that why He called you To endure what is not natural to men. That He might show, and you might know What truly is important to Him. In His own way, and through things that may Make you wonder why you are going through Suffering that will stop, yet what about today? Well, consider for a moment what God will do.
He will give you more grace, and some day you will trace The path of life from a wider perspective. Your faith becomes stronger; trials won’t last any longer Then is needed for your benefit to be corrective. And you will become firm, when at last you can turn, Seeing all the good that testing produced. When the passions of pain burns, is when we truly learn What without it we could never have deduced.
From the suffering some will die, having never known why, Until the day the big picture is seen. This is just a short time where as lights we can shine, Some day we will look back to where we’ve been – We will bless God He made sure, we would mature And be established and strengthened through Him. In the future we will stand, on heaven’s table land – With much wider perspective our praise will begin.
“Father, my vision is wider now than it used to be. May I glimpse in some way – in a better way – what a great and marvelous work of grace is going on all over the world. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.”
Faithful brothers are those who have been tried and proven like Silvanus (Silas). He was trusted by the brethren in Jerusalem to carry an important letter to Antioch. He knew what it was to endure suffering when he was with Paul. He was involved in ministering to the believers at Thessalonica and Corinth. Perhaps Silas helped Peter in writing this epistle that encouraged the suffering saints knowing that Silas was experienced in suffering and had stood fast when he was challenged as they were being challenged. The assembly at Babylon, and Mark who was regarded with affection, wanted their greetings to be sent so they could know others cared for them as well as Peter. Fellowship in suffering times is a great encouragement, and has the power to strengthen us. After listening to the words of this letter, the suffering saints would have turned to each other in a special way. Perhaps with tears they would had said to each other, "Peter and those with him, know what we are going through and genuinely cares for what is happening to us."
Peace is a wonderful way to conclude a letter that is written in times of persecution. Those in Christ can have peace. Those who do not know Christ will have "no peace." Peter was one who paid the price of faithfulness with his life. The price we are called upon to pay at this present time and place may be to stand for our Lord in faith by living with endurance, patience and courage in times of opposition, persecution and suffering.