“It all comes down to this . . .” Many sports events’ last plays are introduced with these words. Whether it’s the pitch in the bottom of the 9th with the count three and two or the “Hail Mary” from the 50 yard line with no time left on the clock, the play will result either in victory or defeat. It all comes down to this.
St. Peter is encouraging a bunch of Christians who have faced persecution in this book that bears his name. They’ve been scattered and they have been “grieved by various trials.” Some had been forced into exile, others lost their homes, yet others had lost loved ones. They all stood under the fear of having to face gladiators and wild animals in the arena. One can easily imagine that would be discouraging.
We ourselves face troubles, and are “grieved by various trials.” Not the same as these pioneers of the Faith, but troubles and trials nonetheless! As part of that “elect” scattered around the world, chosen by God, made holy by the Holy Spirit, and washed with Jesus’ blood, these words apply to us to.
So Peter, in essence says, “It all comes down to this. . . .” All this trouble we face, the struggles of life, the brunt of mockery, even the danger many of our brothers and sisters still face find themselves in the right context when we realize that these things give us opportunity to give praise and glory and honor to Jesus whose salvation of our souls is more precious than anything else in the whole world!
“It all comes down to this . . . .” Jesus’ salvation is revealed to us in his faithfulness. And others see his salvation in us as we live in faith and hope and share the message of this “good news.”
“It all comes down to this . . . .” The hope that the people of the Old Testament clung to, the message that the prophets and heroes of the faith proclaimed, and the marveling of holy men and women long gone from earth we have had revealed to us! God gave his one and only Son, Jesus, and even though we haven’t seen Him we love Him as our Lord and Savior. The message of what He dared to do for us – becoming flesh, bearing our weaknesses, dying and gloriously rising – fills us with joy and courage.
“It all comes down to this . . . .” We’ve been redeemed, ransomed, and rescued from sin, death and the devil. What was the price? Gold? Wealth? Riches? Power? No. Nothing less than the eternal blood of Jesus. And we know that this price was sufficient because God raised him from the dead and has given him glory.
So are we overwhelmed by the troubles we face in life? Not when we keep our eyes focused on Jesus. Not when we set our hope fully on the grace that has been revealed to us in Jesus.
When our hearts and minds are set on grace – God’s lavish undeserved love that moved Him to give Jesus for us – when our minds are set on that love we no longer worry about our weakness or our failing. What is past is past. We strive to lead holy lives now and to conduct ourselves in ways that help people experience God’s love through us, but always we return to this good news – we have been born again in Jesus, and now we love earnestly so that the world can experience salvation . . . and again, Jesus will be revealed and glorified.
St. Peter is encouraging a bunch of Christians who have faced persecution in this book that bears his name. They’ve been scattered and they have been “grieved by various trials.” Some had been forced into exile, others lost their homes, yet others had lost loved ones. They all stood under the fear of having to face gladiators and wild animals in the arena. One can easily imagine that would be discouraging.
We ourselves face troubles, and are “grieved by various trials.” Not the same as these pioneers of the Faith, but troubles and trials nonetheless! As part of that “elect” scattered around the world, chosen by God, made holy by the Holy Spirit, and washed with Jesus’ blood, these words apply to us to.
So Peter, in essence says, “It all comes down to this. . . .” All this trouble we face, the struggles of life, the brunt of mockery, even the danger many of our brothers and sisters still face find themselves in the right context when we realize that these things give us opportunity to give praise and glory and honor to Jesus whose salvation of our souls is more precious than anything else in the whole world!
“It all comes down to this . . . .” Jesus’ salvation is revealed to us in his faithfulness. And others see his salvation in us as we live in faith and hope and share the message of this “good news.”
“It all comes down to this . . . .” The hope that the people of the Old Testament clung to, the message that the prophets and heroes of the faith proclaimed, and the marveling of holy men and women long gone from earth we have had revealed to us! God gave his one and only Son, Jesus, and even though we haven’t seen Him we love Him as our Lord and Savior. The message of what He dared to do for us – becoming flesh, bearing our weaknesses, dying and gloriously rising – fills us with joy and courage.
“It all comes down to this . . . .” We’ve been redeemed, ransomed, and rescued from sin, death and the devil. What was the price? Gold? Wealth? Riches? Power? No. Nothing less than the eternal blood of Jesus. And we know that this price was sufficient because God raised him from the dead and has given him glory.
So are we overwhelmed by the troubles we face in life? Not when we keep our eyes focused on Jesus. Not when we set our hope fully on the grace that has been revealed to us in Jesus.
When our hearts and minds are set on grace – God’s lavish undeserved love that moved Him to give Jesus for us – when our minds are set on that love we no longer worry about our weakness or our failing. What is past is past. We strive to lead holy lives now and to conduct ourselves in ways that help people experience God’s love through us, but always we return to this good news – we have been born again in Jesus, and now we love earnestly so that the world can experience salvation . . . and again, Jesus will be revealed and glorified.
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