3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. - 1 Peter 1:3-5 (ESV)
We can put our hope in many things - from the major to the mundane. From hope for good health to good weather. However, we can never be sure that we’ll keep or obtain what we hope for.
What happens to our hope for good health when struck by Covid-19?
What happens to our hope in our career when made redundant?
Can we have a hope that will never fail?
The answer from God's Word is a resounding YES!
The letter of 1st Peter was first written to believers who had no earthly reason for hope. Persecuted because of their faith in Jesus they lived as outcasts in the world, disowned, imprisoned, tortured and killed.
However, the apostle Peter encourages believers then and now by reminding us that we have a hope that will never fail. That God in His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The hope of a glorious inheritance being reserved in heaven for us and that we by God’s power, through faith, are being preserved to obtain it.
Inheritance Reserved
There is talk at times of the merit of 'best before' or 'use by' dates. For those who are in God’s family a glorious inheritance is reserved for us that will never go off, turn sour or lose its freshness.
Our bodies now are fading. Some of us feel that more than others!! Praise God the day is coming when we will receive new resurrection bodies that will never die or diminish. The whole created order is subject to decay, groaning for release. The world is racked with sin, sickness and death. Praise God the day is coming when He will make all things new and present suffering will seem as but a dream.
However, the most glorious part of our inheritance is knowing God. We know Him imperfectly here but perfectly then. Experiencing the inexpressible joy of knowing Him more and more for all eternity. What a glorious future awaits us at the return of Jesus Christ. This is our living hope.
Saints Preserved
As we look forward to our glorious inheritance one nagging question may remain. Will we keep running the race of faith and so obtain our inheritance? The answer is YES. Just as marathon runners require physical stamina, so God preserves us spiritually to make it to the end, as we continue to trust in Him.
At present our faith may be taking a battering, but it will hold. Its genuineness proved through testing. So may our faith be strengthened this day that as God's chosen people He will hold us fast. Our hope is in Him!
The early Church to whom Peter wrote were powerful witness of what it meant to have such hope in God. Hope that freed them to love others, even their enemies. To accept all the losses of life having the hope that what was to come was far better.
Brothers and sisters let us hope in God who is able to keep us and bring us into His glorious presence without a single fault and with great joy. Showing a world in need of hope what it means to have a living hope that will never fail. To God be the glory!!