“1
Peter 1:3-9 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, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept
in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a
salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though
now for a little while, as was necessary, you have been grieved by various
trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith- more precious than gold
that perishes though it is tested by fire- may be found to result in praise and
glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen
him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and
rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the
outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
(1
Peter 1:3-9 ESV)
The
living hope that Peter refers to in 1 Peter 1:3-9 is not like the hope we have
for good weather for an outdoor event, or that we will find a career that suits
us; it’s much bigger than that. The hope
that Peter writes of here is what we cling to that takes us beyond this life,
beyond our present struggles, hardships or concerns, to eternity in heaven with
God. We are, by the grace of God, born
again into a living hope with an inheritance that is “imperishable, undefiled,
and unfading, kept in heaven for you.”(ESV)
We rejoice in this hope even though we may be experiencing the
difficulties that come with this life, because our hope in Christ takes us
beyond this life. In verses 8-9, Peter
reminds us that though we don’t see Him yet, we love Him and believe in Him,
and trust that He will complete what He has promised, “the salvation of your
souls.”(ESV)
When
Jesus went to the cross, He had more than this earthly life in mind. He was looking ahead to what His life, death
and resurrection would accomplish for those who believe in Him. He was looking ahead to our being spared the
proper penalty for our sins, of our being made one in Him, and our enjoying the
place of matchless purity and beauty that He has prepared for us.
Just
as when a butterfly breaks forth from the cocoon and experiences the beauty and
freedom of flight, so we look forward to breaking the bonds of this earth with
its hardships and disappointments, and break free into eternal life in glory.
Peter writes of this hope as being
“more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire”. Do we place the importance of our
relationship with God as being more precious than gold? If so, does our life, our checkbook, our
calendar reflect that? How much time do
we invest in our hope, in the knowledge of God, in studying His Word, not just
on our own, but with others in the family of faith?
Let’s take a look at verses 6-7
again. “In this you rejoice, though now
for a little while, as was necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,
so that the tested genuineness of your faith- more precious than gold that
perishes though it is tested by fire- may be found to result in praise and
glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” How has the genuineness of our faith stood up
to the tests we’ve experienced? Have
they made us stronger, as was God’s plan, or have they cast doubts on what we
thought we believed?
My prayer is that the testing of
your faith will produce strength and depth in your relationship with Him, and
that you will find a great sense of joy in serving Him in the time we have left
on earth.
(The
portion in italics was preprinted from an article I was asked to write for the
Living Word Bulletin Series for Sunday, April 23, 2017; the image on the
bulletin was of a butterfly on a flower.)
By
His Grace Alone,
Pastor
Bruce Jacobsen
