Praise to God for a Living Hope 1 Peter 1:3-9
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
The World Can Seem Hopeless
There are so many things going wrong in our world. It’s hard to think of things getting better. I was watching “Idiocracy” the other day, and sadly it doesn’t take much of a stretch to think that horrible way of life could be where the human race is headed. (As a side note, there is a lot of swearing and lude behaviors in this movie, so I’m not necessarily recommending it, just referencing it). In “Idiocracy”, we’re introduced to the horrible life humans have because they never questioned anything, valued education or hard work. It is a strange movie, but one that makes you wonder where the actions of this world might lead.
If we trust man, we’ll be disappointed
We can’t count on man to get us through in this world. The advice we get from the world is self-centered. Take care of yourself, do what’s right for you, and more of the same. We’re not to care about others more than ourselves. We need to look out for our own self interests, and sometimes people take that to the extreme. Robbing and killing often happens because someone wanted something someone else had.
We do have a hope
Even though the things of this world get us down: politics, job losses, health issues and family squabbles, as Christians we have a hope that surpasses all understanding. Our hope is in Jesus Christ. Through His resurrection, we have been adopted into the new family that isn’t dysfunctional, is healthy and not political. God wants us to look past the bad things of the world and keep our focus on Him. And when we have to suffer grief or trials, we’re able to bear them knowing that God is still with us and our promise for eternal life with him in heaven is ahead of us. He draws us close that we might snuggle in and feel His arms wrapped around us, protecting us from the evils of this world.
Are you hopeful?
God is... 