Devotional 19 September 2025

September 19, 2025 • Steve Torres

1 Peter 5:12.jpg

“By Silvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it. She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so does Mark, my son. Greet one another with the kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.” (1 Peter 5:12–14, ESV)

Peter closes his letter not with lofty words of theology, but with the warmth of a spiritual family. This is more than doctrine on a page, it is a letter carried by Silvanus, a faithful brother (Acts 15:32, 40), to real people who shared Peter’s faith and his trials. He reminds them: “this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it” (v. 12). After all the encouragement, exhortation, and warnings, Peter boils it down: grace sustains us, so cling to it with all your strength.

The mention of “she who is at Babylon” (v. 13) carries weight. Whether Babylon points to Rome or, as Revelation also suggests, Jerusalem (Rev 11:8; 17:5–6), the effect is the same: even in a place of hostility and tribulation, God has His chosen. The fact that Peter doesn’t name her could be an act of protection during persecution, but his readers would know who she was. They needed reassurance that she was standing firm too. Tribulation might separate believers geographically, but their greetings reminded one another that they belonged to the same family of God.

Peter also mentions Mark, my son (v. 13). This is John Mark, once a companion of Paul and Barnabas (Acts 12:12, 25), who had failed in the past but was restored (2 Tim 4:11). Peter calls him a son, showing a bond of discipleship and love. Silvanus is called a faithful brother, Mark a spiritual son, and the whole church addressed as family. Peter’s closing shows that Christianity is not an individual journey but a household of faith (Eph 2:19).

Finally, Peter commands: “Greet one another with the kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ” (v. 14). In the midst of persecution, the defining mark of the church must be love (John 13:34–35). This kiss was more than a cultural practice; it was an enacted reminder that in Christ, they shared one Spirit, one hope, one family. And his benediction, peace in Christ, echoes the words of Jesus: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you” (John 14:27).

Peter’s final words are not abstract theology but lived truth: grace is real, family is real, love is real, and peace in Christ is real. Stand firm in these, no matter where you are scattered.