There was a time when believers dispersed around an empire needed something to help them. Help them in challenging circumstances.
In that setting, one of the men who would know a lot about challenging circumstances gave this message for encouragement,
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)
Just consider those words carefully.
Marvel at how they capture the beauty and brilliance of what has been done – what is in the present because of what has been done – and what there is to look forward to as long as we keep the faith in terms of what has been done.
Meditate on those words and you can see why there’s a reason to keep on keeping on. You consider these words and you can see why we can acknowledge the set backs, the flaws, the failings, the trials and the tribulations – and still have something in the heart that stirs something amazing in us.
Jesus is the Living Hope.
(Photo by Marc-Olivier Jodoin on Unsplash)
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
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