Thursday, December 12, 2009
The End of All Things
(I Peter 4:6-11)
In the midst of their suffering for their faith, Peter reminds the beleaguered Christians that their misery is only temporary. It has been said that one can endure about anything if he knows that it is temporary. Peter plainly states that God is “ready to judge” both the living and the dead (5). In other words, it won’t be long before justice is done.
Justice in the life to come is based upon one’s response to the Gospel. Peter affirms that the Gospel is the determinate factor for everyone—those who heard it and have died (with no additional possibility of response) and those who are yet alive (6). Every man will be judged according to his response to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Since the “end of all things is at hand,” Christians must live with the urgent expectancy of the apocalypse (7). We are to be serious minded and prayerful, manifesting generous love among ourselves (7, 8). Hospitality is a practical manifestation of generous love. As we await the “end of all things” we must maintain Christian graces as a testimony to the lost and dying world.
Additionally, we must be careful conservators of the resources entrusted us by God (10). To be a steward “of the manifold grace of God” means to highly value the Gospel and to be conscientious in our imparting it to others.
And, as we await “the end of all things,” we must be careful to allow God to work through us, giving Him the glory in all things (11).
