
Week 13 of the Bible in 90 Days Challenge
This last week of the Bible in 90 Days was really just a few days covering Hebrews through Revelations. While I may have said 1 John was my favorite previously, I really liked reading Peter’s epistles. After an in depth study of the gospel of John with our bible study, I have looked at who Peter was in a different way. I never thought before about how much Peter is like me, like many of us. Fumbling through his walk, shining in one moment to be in total darkness in the next. Isn’t that how life is? How life with Christ is? Struggling to be the best person you can be, the most like Christ you can, just to realize that you can never come close. But if you truly want to be like Christ, we have to suffer as He did.
12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. (1 Peter 4)
Then, earlier in his epistle, Peter wrote in chapter 1:
6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
I love how Peter wrote “for a little while” knowing that this life in light of eternity is but a moment. Even now looking back on a trial for a few years ago, it seems as though it wasn’t nearly as bad as it seemed during the heat of the moment. But the best encouragement, is knowing that after this trial has passed, we have been refined by the fire making us of greater worth than gold! Making us more like Christ as we suffer!
The above photo is from Stock.xchng, text added by me from Lost Type.