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To Silas, Mark and She Who Is In Babylon


With the help of Silas, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it. She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark. Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ. (I Peter 5:12-14)
         I wonder what sort of help Silas gave Peter. Quite probably, he acted as a secretary but I can imagine him interjecting, "Peter, back to the subject." In this passage Peter mentions his son, Mark. Zondervan's study notes say that strong early tradition suggest that this is John Mark, who recorded Peter's experiences with Jesus in what we know as the Gospel of Mark. He also mentions "she who is in Babylon." There are a couple possibilities for this, but generally, this is believed to be a church with which Peter was acquainted. In other words, more people. Of course, since Peter was Peter, and since Peter was an apostle, people either loved him or hated him.
           Today's passage has me thinking about friends and the roles they play in our lives. I have been blessed with good friends, and I have had friends who for one reason or another are not my friends any more. I've tried to be a good friend, but I can't say I've succeeded as often as I should have. For Peter, his friends may well have been providing food and shelter. They may have been participating in his ministry. It's possible that their own social standing might have been damaged by association with Peter. In fact, Peter may have chosen not to name his friends to protect them from the Roman government. If his letter had been seized, it might have been used as evidence against them.
           I don't tend to think that I'm a very good friend. I live too much inside my own head. I'm far too opinionated. In spite of this (and because of it) there are people who have prayed for me, stuck by me, helped me in ways that astound me, tolerated  my obsessions, and so much more. In short, they have been great friends. May God bless you and repay your kindness to me tenfold.

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