“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, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” 1 Peter 1.3-5
What Peter speaks of is what we are currently and futuristically hoping to accomplish. He begins with a word of praise “to God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!” We should, we begin with praise identifying God and noting who he is — God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. If He is God, which he truly is, we must recognize him as such. There is no other gods. And, his role as Father (overseer, master, parent, ruler) is unmistakable even while many want to remove his title as “Father.” He is the Father of us, our world and of Jesus Christ.
And what has God done for us that Peter is so eager to write about? He’s given us new birth, in his great mercy, “into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” We now have the chance at a new life, a new birth, a new beginning. Does this stem from something we have done? No! It comes because Jesus rose from the dead. This is our signifying mark of celebration. The hope is “living” and not dead, ongoing and not stagnate. And this living hope leads us to an “inheritance” (of salvation, grace, mercy, love) that Peter writes “can never perish, spoil or fade.”
This indeed is reason to celebrate. God has given us all of this when he sent his Son to come to earth to live, suffer and rise again. God gave us more than we can hope for or imagine. He’s given us so much and yet we go through our days as if filled with dread and hopelessness. Correct your attitude! Let us live today believing in the hope we have garnish through the resurrection of Jesus.
Finally, the inheritance of this salvation, says Peter who is filled with the Holy Spirit speaking the Word of God — is “kept in heaven for you.” What does that mean? Heaven is the keeper of our hope and faith. Our eternal salvation to live forever, to be known by God, to know God is awaiting us when we die. Yet we believe in the kingdom of God among us — we can know God today on earth as we will know him in full in heaven. Those who believe this have protection — “we are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” Until God takes us home, he protects us, watches over us, and keeps for us a place in heaven with him which is our salvation, hope and glory.
Peter has come so far. He’s grown from a fisherman into a prophet proclaiming the good news of living hope. What is keeping us from experiencing this hope today? What is preventing us from rejoicing in a God who rejoices over us? My word for you, which I believe is God’s word for us, is to have this same attitude of Peter and to live into the promise of your salvation. Smile, laugh, rejoice, praise, extol his goodness and put on a face of faith that the world might know the incredible gift of God of mercy, grace and salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord.
“O Lord God, you are good. When my love fails, your love endures always. You are Lord and God, King and Ruler. Thank you for being so gracious. For saving us even when we can not save ourselves. Come Lord Jesus, fill me with your Spirit and love. Give me the hope that Peter so easily expresses. Help me live according to that hope and share it with the world. For you are good and your love endures forever.” Amen