A Living Hope

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you... 1 Peter 1:3&4

We have much to hope for in this life and the next. Ours is a hope that may flicker but can never be extinguished. Because we have believed, we have been "born again" with a new nature; the very nature of the Divine One who resides within us. In other words, our God, who is abundantly merciful, raised His Son from the dead so that we may become "partakers of the divine nature". We can live a life of victory over sin, in this life, as we submit to the will of God for our lives and are obedient to Him through the enabling of the Holy Spirit.

Our Lord delights in making for Himself a holy people out of fallen and frail humanity. For example, the apostles were men who were prone to self–seeking, competitiveness, petty bickering and doubt (to name but a few of their failings). Yet, through the powerful working and enabling of the Holy Spirit, the apostles became vessels of honor to the glory of our King.

More than the hope that we have in the here–and–now, is the hope that we have when our work on earth is finished. God promises us an inheritance that is "incorruptible and undefiled...reserved in heaven" for us. No wonder Peter refers to his readers as "strangers", "pilgrims" or "sojourners". This earth is not our home, so don't get too comfortable here. The best is yet to come!