We get encouragement from another blogger today! God does provide exactly what we need! May we rejoice in the Living Hope we have in Christ who really does give His divine power to face life now and in the future! Heavenly Father, enlighten us by your Holy Spirit as we reflect on your words through the apostle Peter in the passage below. Amen
1 Peter 1-4 (NIV)
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you,
The apostle Peter is reminding us today that through faith in Jesus and his death and resurrection for us, we are reborn by the Spirits power into a new life. This rebirth carries with it the firm assurance of two things: a living hope and an inheritance kept safe for us in heaven.
Our hope is a living hope. Unlike the hopes and dreams of our own making, which often go to pieces, the living hope we possess rests on the sure promises and power of God. It is a hope that makes it possible for us to ‘sail triumphantly into the harbor of eternal fulfillment’ as one of my former mentors would say.
Our inheritance as a child of God, unlike many earthly inheritances that are lost or defied, is kept safe in heaven by our heavenly Father who protects it from disappearing, being spoiled or faded. The inheritance that awaits us as a child of God will never see corruption. It is a certain inheritance that brings great peace.
Having been crucified with Christ and born anew in the waters of baptism, we are empowered in a wonderful and amazing way to be about the call and mission that Jesus has for each of our lives. Because we have been given a living hope and a certain inheritance through faith in the resurrected Christ, we are able to tread without fear the path that our Lord has set before us. We have the privilege of living as a people of hope in a world where hopelessness abounds.
Lord, thank you for choosing us according to your foreknowledge and sanctifying us through the work of the Spirit that we may be obedient to the call you have on each of our lives. Help us to live as people of hope. Amen.
jhf