The End is Near

1 Peter 4:7–11

What would you think or feel if someone told you that there were only 100 years left until the return of the Messiah? What if he was returning this week sometime? What would you think, feel, and do?

Peter opens this passage with a very strong assertion: “The end is near!” He calls on those reading his letter to focus on that which is important and not the less important things. Our days here, on the earth as it is, are measured and in the time we have in this present age, we must focus on those things that are most important. The end truly is near.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:1–2, Paul tells us that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When Peter reminds his readers that the end is near, he is asserting the need to be alert, focused, and ready at all times for the return of our Lord since we don’t know the day or the hour of his return. There are appointed times that the Lord has set that must come to pass. We must remain attentive to the leading of the Holy Spirit and invest time in praying and interceding so that we might stand strong until the end.

One of the first things that Peter calls us to focus on is love. Peter calls us to focus on love because love helps us to overcome a great many things and because we have no time for quarreling and worthless debates. Through the love of God, we are able to forgive and so able to be keep our focus on that which is most important.

We read in verses 10–11 that the second thing we should focus on is using those spiritual gifts that God has given us by his grace. Every one of us was born with different traits and abilities that allow us to produce spiritual fruit. When we stand before God, will we be able to honestly say that we put our spiritual gifts to use? Do we want to hear him say “Well done good and faithful servant”? We are called to be faithful stewards of what God has given us, including spiritual gifts. Every one of us has a calling on our life both personally and corporately as believers. This is something to be thankful for and to celebrate by walking out that calling by the power of the Holy Spirit! The end is near. Are you ready? Are you walking in the gifts of the spirit entrusted to you?