Peter writes to ‘strangers’ in the world.

Christians have their citizenship in heaven. They are just passing through this world.

Our home, address, and new birth are by the Holy Spirit, which gives us a new identity. The cross of our Lord is the place where it all changes. Paul writes, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (Galatians 6:14)

Where do I belong? What is my hope? Where is my home? Where do my priorities in life lead me? The way I live now is the tell-tale of where I am from and where I am going.

Ultimately, Christians do not need the things of this world. In fact, anything of this world will tarnish and corrode that hope.

On the other hand, although Christians are not from this world, they are part of this world; they abstain from the world and engage in this world.

Jesus prayed for his followers: “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.” (John 17:14–19)

Therefore, Peter’s message to Christians is to always live as ‘holy aliens’, engaging in a world where they can suffer for their testimony of Christ. He spurs them on to overcome suffering, keep the faith, and always watch the evil one.

Christians must hold on to the assurance: they have an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade, shielded by Gods’ power.