August 27 - Living Hope

August 27 - 1 Peter 1:3-12 - Living Hope

You have been given a new life into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. It is kept in a safe place for you.

It's nearly impossible to see past the stress and gloom that we face every day into future glory. Peter tells us that we may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials, but it is only for a little while. What a narrow focus we have when we only see the stress and trials of our every day life. This is only a short period of time in comparison to the eternity that we will spend with God in heaven!

So, why do we even have to deal with this? Well, it's pretty clear in these verses. 1 Peter 1:7 tells us that our faith is worth much more than gold is being refined so that it may be proved genuine. Can you imagine anything more exciting than to have people standing beside us in heaven when Jesus is revealed because they saw and responded to our faith?

When we face down trials and stress and grow in our faith, people around us notice this. They notice that we love Jesus even though we don't see him. They notice our joy. (1 Peter 1:8)

Much like the prophets of ancient times (1 Peter 1:10-12), our faith is not just for the moment. They lived to serve people that would live long after they had died. They had hoped for Christ's initial lifespan on earth. They prophesied about it, they prayed for it, they led their people as they waited for it.

Our lives are not just meant to be lived for ourselves. We are establishing the foundation of faith for generations to come. We pray for the second coming of the Messiah, we hope for it, we wait for it. And if we don't see it in our lifetimes, there will be those who walk on the foundation of our faith who will see it and will rejoice.

We serve those future generations. We are a living hope.