Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Camouflaged

Peter is writing to persecuted Christians in his first letter to Christians scattered abroad. He talks about the terrible threats they face encouraging them that God is glorified through their faithfulness. He then writes what appears at first to be a very strange sentence, “For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God (1 Peter 4:17).

The word “for” makes the connection between previous verses 12-16, that addresses persecution of Christians. Peter makes it clear that God is at work, using the persecutions to purify his people.

Persecution forces us to make choices to rely on God and lay down our lives for his glory, or to seek our own will. Our choices in the United State are camouflaged by our abundance. We aren't as apt to recognize that we are making spiritual choices. Nonetheless, our decisions will be judged.