Have you ever had a deep hope or desire for something that you really wanted to happen or come about, but then it didn’t? Your deep wish was dashed and shattered. Perhaps it left you rather devastated for a while. Maybe it did come to pass, but it ended up not being quite as wonderful as you had wished. That can leave you rather down, as well. Perhaps you see all your hopes and wishes for the future come crashing down. Your confidence and trust take quite a beating. Our Scripture today shares with us about a hope that we can have that is certain. It is an inheritance, and something that we can depend on. Let’s take a look at this promise of God.
Our New Testament Scripture for this week comes from a letter that the Apostle Peter wrote to believers. In these verses today Peter shares with us about a living hope that he has, and we can have too, one that came to us through the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Peter knew what it felt like to have one’s hope shattered and destroyed. For over three years he had followed Jesus as a faithful disciple, and came to believe that He was the Messiah. Then the unthinkable happened. Jesus was betrayed by one of his fellow disciples, arrested, beaten and scourged, and then brutally executed on the cross. Everything Peter had hoped for and believed in was crushed. However, the third day after the crucifixion, everything was turned around when Jesus rose from the dead! Jesus was resurrected, and because of this, Peter and all of us have a living hope.
The word “hope” in Biblical usage is not just wishful thinking, as is a common, everyday definition of the word. In Biblical terminology, hope is a confident optimism. We can have assured hope, knowing that what God has promised us will most assuredly come to pass. As Peter shares with us today, we have a living hope in eternal life with Him (vs. 3). We have this assurance because of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because Jesus is alive, we have a living hope. The resurrection of Jesus guarantees that God will honor all of His promises.
God provides us with salvation because He is a merciful God (vs. 3). We have this gift of salvation, not because we are such wonderful people who deserve this from God. We are actually wretched sinners who don’t deserve any mercy, but God gave us mercy because He loves us, and gives a place in heaven to all those who come to Him through Jesus.
The Lord promises all believers an inheritance that He is reserving for us in heaven, one which He is guarding for us. Some people have been given a nice inheritance from a wealthy relative, or even a friend or benefactor. Sometimes, though, that inheritance might end up being damaged or destroyed. Money may have been put in some type of stocks or financial account, and a downturn in the economy brings a big loss. Physical items can end up becoming damaged, destroyed, or stolen. This will not be the case with any inheritance we have from our Heavenly Father (vs. 4-5). We can look past any troubles we have, and look to our eternal inheritance. Our inheritance is God’s presence, joy, perfection, and eternal rewards. This inheritance is incorruptible. It will not pass away or decay. It is undefiled and not stained with evil. It does not fade away. Unlike an earthly inheritance, this will last forever.
No one, including Satan, can steal the treasure God has for us (vs. 5). Saving faith is permanent. It never dies. No matter what we may endure during our lifetime, our souls cannot be harmed if we have accepted Jesus as our Savior.
Our hope is not only for the future. Eternal life begins when we trust Jesus. No matter what trials we face in this life, we know it is not our final experience (vs. 6). Trials do not last forever. They serve a purpose, but should not diminish our joy. God allows trouble to test the reality and genuineness of our faith (vs. 7). How would we ever learn to trust God if we never experienced a situation where only He could help us? All faith is tested, and great faith is tested greatly. Jesus uses everything that touches our lives for our good and for His glory.
In closing, we should not put our hope in something lifeless, like money, a job, property, or a myriad of other physical things. Put your trust in Jesus. He is not lifeless. He is alive. In Him we have an inheritance, we have strength, and we have eternal life.
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