1 Peter 1:3—The living hope

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…1 Peter 1:3

Blessed. Great mercy. Born again. Living hope. Resurrection from the dead. This is the vocabulary of the redeemed. These are the flashing neon lights pointing ever upward in a dark and fallen world.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…

Your God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is blessed. Before time began He was blessed; He has remained blessed throughout history; He is blessed now; and He will always be blessed forever and ever. He will never not be blessed—this fact stands as a pillar of truth for all eternity.

… who according to His great mercy…

Everything that God does, He does in mercy—the mercy which endures forever. It never runs out; it never stops; it never ends.

God plans according to mercy; He works behind the scenes according to mercy; He displays His power according to mercy; He enacts His great promises according to His mercy. He moves silently among us according to His great mercy.

… has caused us to be born again…

It is according to His great mercy that you have been drawn to Him. Your curiosity, your hunger, your restless questions—all were stimulated and agitated by His tender mercy toward you. And that moment you recognized your very real need for a Savior? It was brought to you by the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ—according to His great mercy. You responded; the Son of God entered your life by your invitation; and you were born again.

… to a living hope…

One key ingredient that is birthed within you when you are born again is an undeniable, unquenchable, unfading hope. This hope is not the fleeting, fickle hope of one who wishes to win the lottery or who hopes for the sun to come out tomorrow; no. This hope is alive. It was born within you when you were born from above; and it permeates your very being every day, quietly propelling you to keep going; prompting you to look up; helping you to stay strong; and steadying you like an anchor. As you fix your hope on the living God, you come to realize that He carries you through the ups and downs of life as your personal Guide, Instructor, Counselor, and Security Guard. This is your birth right—an indestructible living hope.

…through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

Your hope is supported by nothing less than the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Hope that clings to anything less is wasted energy, but the hope that draws its strength from that certain dawn when the stone was rolled away and the Lord rose victorious over death and the grave—now that’s a hope that’s been to hell and back—and lives triumphantly to rejoice over every other foe through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

Dorothy

…we have fixed our hope on the living God…1 Timothy 4:10a

© 2015, Dorothy Frick