In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. (1 Peter 1:6)
Currently in America Christians generally do not experience the kinds of trials that first century believers did. Each year persecution increases according to the warnings Christ has given us. We do experience trials that can even test our faith, and in a way these trials may be more effective than the overt physical trials of Christians 2,000 years ago.
Today our secular culture will tolerate Christianity so long as its adherents stay quiet and do not bother anyone with the gospel message. More and more automobiles exhibit the “COEXIST” bumper stickers. It seems with each passing day Jesus Christ is pushed closer to total irrelevancy in the society at large.
Many have been thoroughly “evolutionized.” True science matches the Bible, but most people (Christians included) have been indoctrinated by the educational system and the media to accept some if not all of the atheistic philosophy that undergirds today's secular interpretations of reality. This is the basis for much grief in our society and especially for Bible-believing Christians.
But the bottom line is that today's Bible verse reminds Christians that this situation is “for a little while” and we continue to have reason to greatly rejoice!
