Day 375: Starting again – 1 Peter 1 vs 3 – 9

3-4 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance - an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.  5-6 And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see. So be truly glad.  There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while.

7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold - though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honour on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. 8-9 You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:3-9 New Living Translation paraphrase (English Standard Version)

In the early days of the Church a Christian named Stephen was accused by Jews in Jerusalem of saying blasphemous things against Moses and God and they stoned him to death. Acts 8: 2 says “On that day a wave of persecution began sweeping over the church in Jerusalem - and all the believers (except the apostles) were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria.” These were the sort of people Peter was writing to. They had been forced to leave their homes behind and live like exiles in other towns. And even in the places they'd fled to they knew that there would be people who strongly opposed the message of the gospel. So what does Peter urge them to keep in mind in vs 3-4?

Because of God's mercy on them, and because He raised Jesus from the grave, they have a far better inheritance waiting for them than anything they may have lost in this world. It's an inheritance God Himself was keeping safely in store for them, and it wasn't like earthly treasures which don't last. We know even today that Stock Markets can crash, gold can drop in price and businesses can go bankrupt. And even if that didn’t happen, the riches of this world can't pay for the forgiveness of sins or buy a place in heaven. But there's more. What is the good news of vs 5-6?

It wasn't only their faith that would get them to their inheritance. I'm sure some of them, like us, would've felt that their faith wasn't always strong. But their faith linked them to God's power, and He would protect them through any fierce trials they faced along the way and bring them safely to heaven. Which is why Peter tells them to look upon their trials in a different way to the how the world would see their sufferings. What way was that? (vs 7)

The opposition and persecutions Christians go through are overwhelming evidence of the genuineness of their faith. They weren't following Jesus for riches and success in this world; their goal was to see the glory of God and Jesus in the world that is to come. Peter then says something in vs 8-9 that should be of tremendous encouragement to us just as it would've been to the people he was writing to. Can you see what that is?

They loved Jesus even though they had never met Him or seen Him! Peter had known Jesus in the flesh, but these believers, like us, were a 'second generation' of Christians. They'd only heard about Jesus and about His dying for sinners, and of His resurrection and return one day. Yet through that message they had been born again into a new start in life. It had brought a great joy to their lives that was hard to put into words. That joy belongs to anyone who has turned from sin and put their hope and trust in Jesus Christ. We may not always 'feel it' – but if we think of what He has done for us our hearts will surely be stirred. And, like Peter, we'll say “All praise to God!”