In the last post we thought about how, for the Christian, hope is a sure and concrete reality. I thought it would be helpful to think further on our hope and let the Apostle Peter help us. In 1 Peter 1:3-5, he wrote:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” -1 Peter 1:3-5
Peter begins by reminding us that we have a living hope because we have a living Savior. The hopes that the world seduces us to rest in are nothing more than hollow hopes in the end. The hopes of health, wealth, happiness, power, control, and so on are nothing more than sand. No matter how tightly we cling to these hopes they still slip through our fingers and leave us empty-handed in the end. I know this, but I am still tempted and enticed by these lesser hopes. Yet, Peter tells us that we have a sure hope, a living hope that comes from the resurrected Savior.
This reality is amazing! Jesus, victorious over sin and death (Rev. 1:17-18), offers to us a hope that is indestructible. The lesser hopes offered by this world are not indestructible. There is no certainty of these lesser hopes in this life, and they have absolutely nothing to offer to anyone beyond the grave. I want to point out four things Peter tells us about our hope in Christ.
Our hope in Christ is imperishable, meaning it will never fall short or runout. Hope in Christ doesn’t have an expiration date, it has a realization date when our faith becomes sight.
Our hope in Christ is undefiled, meaning that God is both just and justifier in offering this salvation to us in Christ Jesus (Rom. 3:26). There is nothing shady or underhanded about this hope.
Our hope in Christ is unfading, meaning this hope will never lose its beauty and luster, it is ever new.
Our hope in Christ is kept for us by God the Father. Anytime we have something prized and cherished we immediately are moved to think on how to protect it and keep it secure. This great hope is kept for us, it can never be stripped away from us!
It is clear that the superficial hopes of this world don’t compare to Biblical hope in Christ. Let’s pray that the Lord would set our fickle hearts more and more on our hope in Christ and that this hope would orient us to live for His glory.
Written by Matt Baker