The Christian gospel is the proclamation of an event, the event of Jesus Christ.  In the Christian view of reality, Jesus is final. He is the revelation of God and the revelation of true humanity.

The point that John is making here is that no man has seen God at any time, but God today can manifest Himself through believers loving each other.  Since the world in general is not seeing Jesus as He is presented in the World of God, the only way it will know of God's love is through the lives of believers who represent Him.

(Dr. J. Vernon McGee, 1991)

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said: Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a permanent attitude.

"The marvelous truth of divine forgiveness is the foundation for a positive Christian self-image" (Hoekema, 1913).  Sometimes one's difficulty to forgive is directly proportioned to one's thinking too highly of oneself.  If my thinking is that I am too good to forgive you; then I have a poor self-image, in light of the fact that I am a Christian.

Forgiveness, like love, is a concept as much as a feeling.  If your assumptions about it are extreme or unrealistic, you may never forgive, or you may forgive too quickly.

(Abrahams- Spring, 1997)

Suffering is the crucible in which faith and confidence in God is developed.  Suffering for the sake of righteousness is intended to make us into the people that God wants us to be.  To remember the dark times when God stood by us finally made a "way of escape" is a source of nourishment to continue in faith (Anderson & Saucy, 1997)

Isaiah was talking about a believer who obeys God yet walks in darkness.  He was not talking about the darkness of sin, nor even the kingdom of darkness.  Rather, he was talking about the darkness of uncertainty.  (Anderson & Saucy, 1997)

You must thank God in the midst of your pain.  Tell Him you trust Him.  Praise Him for what He can do, for what He is doing, as you do so pressure will lift.  You will be given a garment of praise to replace a spirit of heaviness. (John White, The Fight, Inter Varsity, 1976).

The reality of Peter’s view of Christian suffering being inevitable requires that we have a Christian response to suffering.  We may not always be able to identify the source of our suffering, but if we are Christ’s disciples, we can expect to be persecuted.  Jesus said, (John 15:20) …If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you also. 

Whether our suffering is physical pain, poverty, or spiritual turmoil, all of these provide opportunities for us to minister to each other and not only give blessings, but also to receive blessing through service.