Abundant Joy

“The end of all things is near; therefore, be alert and sober-minded for prayer. Above all, maintain constant love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaining.” 

We now move into a new paragraph. The heading in your Bible might read as mind does, “End-Time Ethics.” The NKJV has “Serving for God’s Glory.” I think both are appropriate! Peter had been writing in the previous paragraph about how the Gentiles will have to give an account to God. He then moves into this section on how Christians are to behave.

He starts with this. “The end of all things is near…” What does Peter mean by this? I’m going to paraphrase Wayne Grudem’s explanation from his commentary because I found it so helpful. All the major events in God’s plan of redemption have already taken place: creation, the fall, the call of Abraham, the exodus from Egypt, the Kingdom of Israel, the exile in Babylon and return, the birth of Christ, his life death and resurrection, his ascension into heaven, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit to establish the church. All the events have taken place that need to happen for Jesus to return.

When Peter wrote this, was he thinking that the end of all things would be in his lifetime? We don’t know. Jesus had told them that no one knows (except the Father) when he was coming back. All through church history, people have tried (and failed) to predict when Jesus is coming back. They spend countless hours worrying, trying to figure out numbers, prophecies, etc. to discover hidden meanings so they can calculate a date for Christ’s return. But are we supposed to do that? Let’s read on.

Peter says, “… therefore, be alert and sober-minded for prayer.” Edmund Clowney writes in his commentary, “Three times in this short letter Peter exhorts the Asian Christians to be sober. Obviously that includes literal sobriety in contrast to drunkenness, but it also indicates the attitude of mind that is the opposite of drunken stupor or delusion. Sobriety means watchful waiting for the Lord’s return, realistic living.” I think that sometimes people who get caught up in end-times theology are the opposite of this. Don’t get me wrong! There is nothing wrong with the study of eschatology. But when that becomes our primary focus above all else, and we forget to put Jesus ‘s greatest commandment into practice, we have lost sight of the big picture.

Let’s look at those two words: sober-minded and alert. Arichea and Nida in their commentary A Handbook on the First Letter From Peter, write “… the two verbs together denote complete control of oneself, resulting in calmness, sobriety, self-control, sensibleness, steadiness.” This is opposite of how the Gentiles behave in verse 3 (drunkenness and unrestrained behavior). We will continue to see these contrasts in the next verses.

The reason that he exhorts the Asian Christians to be sober-minded and alert is for prayer. He wants them to be serious about their prayer. Clowney writes, “Sobriety and a clear mind have one value above others. They equip us for prayer. Peter does not think of a prayer as an effort to induce ecstasy, but as sober, direct, profoundly thoughtful communication with the Lord.” I know I am convicted here, because while I have ongoing conversational prayer during the day, I don’t have a set time where I soberly and alertly pray for the needs of the country, my family, my friends, and my church. I do it as I think of it, but I think it should be a regular discipline like my Bible study is and I know I need to work on this.

I was watching Mike Winger’s sermon series on 1 Peter, and he suggested we watch the news like it’s a prayer request list. That sure changes things! Instead of getting stressed out and worried over the things I’m seeing, I can lift them to God in prayer. It is also a reminder to me that God is in control. We are in the end times (and have been for 2000 years!) Things aren’t going to get better before Jesus returns, so I don’t know why we are surprised by what is happening. There have been worse times in history, and there have been better. We would do well to listen to Peter’s words. “The end of all things is near: therefore, be alert and sober-minded for prayer.”

Peter moves on to say, “Above all, maintain constant love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins.” Here we see a direct contrast with verse 3 again. Love fills the Christian’s heart, not evil desires. Peter is directly quoting from Proverbs 10:12, which reads, “Hatred stirs up conflicts, but love covers all offenses.” Peter had already told his readers that they were to “…show brotherly love for each other, from a pure heart love one another constantly…” (1:22). Here he says, “Above all…”  It is important! Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was. “He said to him, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Matthew 22:37-39).  We are commanded to love.

But what is love? That’s the big question for today, isn’t it? Does love mean accepting everything a person does? Or does it define itself (love is love)? Fortunately for us, the Bible gives us some definitions. Let’s take a look. First, we have the example of Jesus, who laid down his life for us. “No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Next, we can go to the love chapter, 1 Corinthians 13. There we see that love is patient, kind, does not envy, is not boastful, is not arrogant, is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable, and does not keep a record of wrongs. Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. How very different is the real definition of love (and how very beautiful) compared to the counterfeit we have today.

The last part of today’s section is this.” Be hospitable to one another without complaining.” This is a direct contrast to the drunken orgies of verse 3. Paul writes in Romans, “Share with the saints in their needs; pursue hospitality” (12:13).  And in Hebrews 13:2, “Don’t neglect to show hospitality, for by doing this some have welcomed angels as guests without knowing it.” During the time Peter wrote this letter, the persecuted Christians were forced to travel. Roger Raymer writes this in his commentary. “Christian love may be displayed through extending free food and lodging, offering hospitality (philoxenoi lit. “being friendly to strangers”) without grumbling to those who are traveling. During times of persecution, hospitality was especially welcomed by Christians who were forced to journey to new areas.” This may not be the case today, but how can we show hospitality? Maybe we can offer a spare room to the visiting missionary. Or host our small group Bible study. You don’t have to have a perfect house to open it up to others. I decided long ago that if I waited until my house was perfect and perfectly clean before having people over, it would never happen. People are more comfortable when you welcome them with a big smile and a joyful attitude than with a perfect house.

Grace be with you!