I Peter 5: 10 – 14

Peter’s friends are going through tough times. So, he writes them a letter filled with words of encouragement and hope. He acknowledges that their pain and loss is hard to bear. The promise, however, is that our Heavenly Father has a very special kind of grace to help us when we are at our lowest times. At the very end of his letter he can’t resist restating his encouragement one more time and in doing so gives us additional insight into how that grace comes to us. Surprise of surprises, God’s grace often comes to us through friends. In Peter’s case, it was through Silas, who he considers a “faithful brother”. And Mark, who he calls, “my Son”. We may be in for the greatest days any of us have ever seen. Or, we may be in for the worst days any of us have ever seen. In either case our friendships are loaded with the grace that God gives to move us to “strength and steadfastness.”