Hope for the Exiles

 Have you ever felt like you don't belong? Maybe you were frustrated, were picked on or pushed away; you possibly felt like a "fish out of water" trying to live in a place that seemed hostile. That is exactly how the people Peter wrote this letter to felt! People who were being persecuted and ridiculed because of their faith and because they "didn't belong". Peter's message: "You're correct! You don't belong here! This place is temporary, and you are going to struggle, but don't give up hope."

In reality, just like the people Peter was writing to, we are also "Exiles", living in a place that can be hostile and hurtful because of the persecution we experience as we try to live in a different way than the World expects.