Sæktu forritiðEncouragement and TeachingSýnishorn
The addressees of Peter’s letter
Peter addresses his readers as “exiles of the Dispersion”, and then mentions various regions. These are in modern Turkey. Peter’s readers were living there. So why does he call them “exiles”?
Well, these Christians recognized that the place where they were living, was not home. They were facing exclusion and discrimination because of their faith in Jesus Christ. This was not a local problem of that time; it is the universal experience of Christians throughout all ages. Jesus Himself pointed out the reason in John 17:16, “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.”
The Christian author C.S. Lewis expresses the same idea: “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.”
Everybody who belongs to Jesus does not fully belong to this world. He is a stranger, and exile. Sometimes the world even hates him. This makes him all the more long for the fulfillment of God’s Kingdom, where he will be “at home with the Lord”.
Are you living as a stranger in this world?
About this Plan
This Reading Plan goes through the first chapter of 1 Peter. The apostle Peter is writing to Christians who are facing hard times, and exhorts them to stand firm in the true grace of God. Peter gives valuable advice on how to do this in your daily life. Do read with us to profit from his teachings!
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