To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus … 1 Peter 1:1
Currently I am reading 1 Peter. The book begins with 3 conditions: the church are “elect”, “strangers” and “scattered”. The first speaks of the Christian’s relationship with God but the other two indicate that the church was living on the edge. The church in Asia Minor were living a tough life of persecution. They were on the fringes of society and certainly not part of the Roman mainstream
They didn’t have big buildings or budgets, large music teams, large staff and the budget to match. Yet the church at this time was effective.
There are many themes woven through Peter’s epistle, but the one thought I want to reflect on at this time is: Is the Western Church today too dependent on structures and programmes rather than living the nitty, gritty coal face Christianity that is reflected in 1 Peter? Then, if it was more like the early church, would it be more effective?
I would love to have your thoughts.
Travels from Ur 