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, if 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)
Is your life perfect?
Do you have things in your life you wish you could change?
Do you have circumstances in your life you wish you did not have to go through?
I know of no person who thinks their life is grand and could use no changes. I do know some people who think the littlest thing is going to completely destroy their life. And some peopled who have been nearly to hell and back and have not even batted an eye…
Why do some people seem to handle the stress of the situation of life better than others?
Maybe it it perseverance and a knowledge that things could be worse…
Maybe it is what Peter talks to us about today in the reading…
Maybe it is a little of both…
Peter tells us we have been “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.” We are born anew to a living hope of a world that is to come, being kept pure and holy for us by God. It will be revealed to us.
No where in scripture does it promise once who start following after Jesus that your life will be perfect, in fact I would argue that the Bible tells us we will face trials because of following Jesus. In a few Sundays we will read of James and John asking Jesus to sit at His left and right hands in His glory. Jesus asks if they can drink of the cup and partake in the baptism that He does, and they say they can and Jesus tells them they will, the cup and baptism represent Jesus’ death. We will all face death because of following Jesus, He was beaten and bruised and He told His followers what they do to me they will do to you… Rest assured my brothers and sisters, none of us will make it out of here alive, in order to have resurrection, we must have death…
But Peter tells us after he reminds us of the glorious day that awaits that we will face trials, and some of us are in them now. These are to see how genuine we are in our following, in our trusting in God. Are we really following after God, or do we give Him lip service so we can get an easy fix, turning God into the cosmic vending machine where we show Him a little love and He gets us out of our current situation…
We need to trust that God is walking with and cling to the promises of His book. Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of Death I will fear no evil, for you are with me… God is walking with us and holding our hands as we face this life. Do you trust Him with your life, then know that He will see you through. He will never give up on you, do not give Him lip service and follow Him.
It may not be an easy ride, but the fringe benefits are completely out of this world!
aSacredRebel 