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Various Trials
Various Trials
1 Peter 1:6-7 “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have
been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith – more
precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire – may be found to result in
praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
To call the persecution of the Christians in and around Asia Minor, “various trials”
seems, by my estimation, inadequate. I believe it fair to assume that some of the
“Exiles of the Dispersion” rolled their eyes, or possibly thought “Peter is exceedingly
underselling our woes here.” At the time of the writing of this letter, about 62 A.D.,
Asia Minor was under the Roman Empire’s control, and the Romans did not take
kindly to Christians and would often burn them alive for a spectacle… occasionally as
public entertainment. The Romans saw it as their own “purification” process, ridding
themselves of the Christians who stood opposed to their way of life, which included
worshipping Caesar as God or worshipping other Greek or Roman gods. The
following quote helps to summarize the distaste for the “annoying” Christians at the
time:
“Christians were a tiny, new religious group that refused to worship local gods or
participate in imperial cults. This alienated them from society, drawing hostility as
they were seen as atheists who rejected the gods supposedly responsible for the city’s
prosperity.”
I believe it's because of the severe persecution that Peter starts off his letter in such a
positive and uplifting way. Before he acknowledges the various trials in verse 6, he
reminds them of the living hope they have in Jesus Christ. He reminds them of the
inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, and that it's being kept in
heaven for them. It is no wonder that Peter himself was an elder in the church when
you see displays of wisdom such as this. It would be so easy for those Christians to
focus on the fear, the pain, the sorrow and so he knows it's good to start off his letter
by reminding them of the ever surpassing glory and joy they will soon partake in.
We have a sign displayed in our home that reads “focus on the good, and the good
gets better.” Maybe the author of this current day popular slogan was reading Peter’s
letter when these words were formulated … either way, these words are extremely
powerful and abundantly true.
When we focus on the good versus the unfortunate circumstances that sometimes
surround us (wave on wave to the point where it feels as if another clear breath will
never come), it helps us to cultivate a perspective where the good is more prominent
in our lives. We've heard of the phrase “we are what we eat”, but what I think is truer,
is “we are what we think”. And when we choose (it is a choice) to think about the good
rather than the sub-optimal, we are making a choice for positivity and a brighter
today and a brighter tomorrow.
When we focus on the good, electric momentum is created in our lives forming this
positive feedback loop. When we focus on the positive, the warm, the comforting, it
makes us feel whole and alive and then we will likely seek out those feelings more and
more and continue to produce actions that produce positivity. It's a never-ending
circle that can only be interrupted if we choose to focus on the negative.
Finally, when we focus on the good, we will undoubtedly have resilience amid
adversity. The Christians in Asia Minor during that time knew from experience that
life is not always going to be sunshine and rainbows. It’s not even mostly sunshine
and rainbows (otherwise, why look forward to our true home). But if they could focus
on the good, with nudges from encouragers like Peter, they could have resilience in
the face of persecution knowing that this persecution when compared to the eternal
weight of glory of heaven could rightfully be called “various trials”. It's in the face of
adversity that the positive momentum or feedback loop that we discussed prior really
starts to come into play. If my default reaction is to remind myself of the good in the
face of adversity, the adversity can have no rule over me. But if I am often lured into
doom and gloom and loathing of life by the different trials that creep in, I am
constantly going to be depressed and feel as if there are blocks on my chest, ultimately
being of no real benefit in God's Kingdom.
I am aware that to write about the perspective and thinking of Christians in the first
century as if I know much of anything is risky business. But, it’s not necessary to have
their life experience to understand the importance of training ourselves to focus on
the good. Our lives today, as blessed as we are, are still filled with pain, uncertainty,
anguish and fear, and there may come a time in our lives where this type of
persecution that they suffered starts to rear its ugly head. If we are unable to focus on
the good with the challenges we face today, we need to ask ourselves this very
important question: “Am I prepared to have my faith tested by fire.”
- Travis Starling
