Living Hope
Scripture Text: 1 Peter 1: 3-5 ......"Praise be to God the 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, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade, kept in heaven for you. 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."
Peter looks towards the future, and his heart is full of hope which he calls ‘living hope.’ Living hope is something that can be enjoyed, something that can be a joy to look forward to. Living hope is different from dead hope, for dead hope comes to an hasty end, nothing to look forward to, but living hope is what keeps you going, it is worth waiting for, it brings us joy. Peter says that this living hope is made possible because of God’s great abundant mercy that he has bestowed upon us. It was not our own doing that brought about His mercy, or how righteous or religious we were, no it was because of his mercy, that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.
And because of his great mercy, and because of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, and because we accepted his gift of eternal life, and because we confess our sins to him, we to like Peter have this living hope. We are people not to be pitied, oh no we are children of the most high, we are children of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. We have been included in His last will and testament, we have an inheritance, that is incorruptible, undefiled, and that can never fade away.
We on this earth today may have a last will and testament written, whereby after this life down here is over for us, we will leave to our family and friends possessions, that one day will just fade away, but our inheritance that God has reserved for us in heaven is eternal. It will not fade, it will not loose its value, it will never be stained, it will be the same each day, and for eternally. Oh saints if everything crumbles around me today, my inheritance that is reserved in heaven will still be intact.
What about you, do you have this living hope that Peter talks about, do you look forward to your future with joy, or is your heart full of sadness because of disappointments of life? You can have this living hope, by accepting the gift of God which is eternal life. The inheritance is there for you, but in order to receive this eternal inheritance, first you have to accept the gift of God. Just say this prayer from your heart: ‘Dear Lord Jesus, I believe you died on the cross for my sins, and that you rose again, I confess my sins to you, please wash me in your blood, and I will live for you.’
If you have prayed this prayer, than you have become one of God’s children, and right now in heaven, there is reserved for you an eternal inheritance. GOD BLESS
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