Readings for today: 1 Peter 1-5
Perhaps you’ve heard the phrase, “Hope is not a strategy.” I tend to agree with it. Even used it myself as I work with people who are struggling with addiction or deep life-change. The reason why it resonates is because we too often equate “hope” with wishful thinking or naive optimism. We connect “hope” with earthly desires or selfish ambitions. We too often associate “hope” with unattainable goals and dreams. Christian hope is different. It is grounded in the most fundamental reality of human existence…the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ.
One of the most striking things about Christians throughout the centuries and even around the world today is their ability to persevere under persecution. I think of the men and women I know who risk their lives in places like North Korea, China, Ethiopia, and South Sudan to bring the gospel to their people. They are often imprisoned. Beaten. Abused. Sometimes they even are killed for the sake of their faith. I think of a man I once met who had been shot point blank in the temple. The bullet passed through his left eye, broke the bridge of his nose, and exited out the other side of his head. Somehow he survived and recovered and continued to preach! Incredible! How is such a thing possible? He had been born again to a living hope.
“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)
Friends, the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ is our guarantee that everything we believe is true. The historical fact that Jesus rose from the dead forms the foundation of our faith. We do not hold to a blind faith. Our hope is not in vain. God has revealed Himself fully in His Son. He has made Himself known to the world through Jesus. In Christ, He has kept all His promises. And when we place our faith in Jesus, we are truly born again to a living hope. A hope grounded in the reality that the Risen Christ now lives and reigns in glory forever.
This reality should frame our entire lives. It should frame how we think, how we feel, how we act. It should frame how we plan and what we pursue. We have an inheritance - guaranteed by God Himself - that is being stored up for us in heaven! It is imperishable. Undefiled. Unfading. God Himself guards it by His sovereign power. Yes, we have yet to attain it. Yes, we will only get a taste of it in this life. Yes, there will be hardships and sufferings and trials and tribulations that may cause us even to question it at times. But if we endure. If we persevere. If we hold fast to our faith, we will find ourselves being refined as pure gold.
This Christmas season. In the midst of all the COVID restrictions. In the midst of the economic fears and hardships. In the midst of the mental health challenges. I pray you find your hope renewed. I pray you look to the revelation of Jesus Christ in the manger on Christmas Eve and rejoice with joy over His birth. He is the goal of our faith. He represents the salvation of our souls. All that is His will one day be ours in glory. Believe this, dear friends, for it truly is the miracle of Christmas!
Readings for tomorrow: Hebrews 1-4