Living hope

 This week's verses are 1 Peter 1:3-9:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he gave us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, that is, into an inheritance imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. It is reserved in heaven for you, who by God’s power are protected through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. This brings you great joy, although you may have to suffer for a short time in various trials. Such trials show the proven character of your faith, which is much more valuable than gold—gold that is tested by fire, even though it is passing away—and will bring praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. You have not seen him, but you love him. You do not see him now but you believe in him, and so you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, because you are attaining the goal of your faith—the salvation of your souls.

 

In these verses, Peter talks about the time period between the point where we decide to be Christians and the point at which we die and see what reward is waiting for us. He hits a few themes: 

We are reborn into a living hope, thanks to Jesus Christ. Reborn means starting over. It means a fresh chance at things. It means no more debt to pay down, no baggage.

The "living hope" Peter describes, the hope we have, is not just a single snapshot in time. It's not some abstract one time idea. It's alive and part of our daily life. It fuels the decisions we make. And it exists in a real and present sense in the person of God himself.

An inheritance is reserved for us. We don't have to wonder if someone else will get it. We don't need to doubt if it can be produced. We don't have to worry about whether a seat is waiting for us.

All of this sounds like great news, but then Peter tells us that trials will come. Trials forge perfection. They are feedback, milepost signs that let us make a choice for the next leg of our journey. Without trials, we could drift in the wrong direction forever. Trials are like the refining process that turns ore into gold, like the oven that turns batter into cake. They're necessary, even if we don't always understand the mechanism of how they do what they do.

Our faith produces value like it's gold. High value. Our perseverance produces something tangible that is revealed in the end. But it's hard. We love, but we can't yet be joined together. We believe, but we can't prove it. The tests and trials are not just found in the circumstances of our lives, but they can even get into our heads and challenge our thoughts and emotions.

But we'll get there. We can be happy now and we will be happy imagining what is to come. It is a gift unlike anything we can obtain here. We can rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy because we know we'll get there, and that the reward that makes it worth it is waiting for us.

The point of faith is what it confirms. It's proof of our belief and our dedication, not that we are perfect but that we try and believe.

Advent is about recognizing the fact that we are waiting in anticipatory joy for the coming of our Lord, by whose mercy we were given the chance to be reborn. Be mindful of the anticipation and confident in its reward during this season. Your devotion will produce real lasting value, if you can just hold tight and live out your hope.