Focal passage: 1 Peter 1:3-9
Whenever you build some kind of structure, you must make sure you first get the foundation right. Failure to do so will ensure disaster, particularly when severe storms and powerful winds blow against the structure.
The early believers to whom Peter is writing – the dispersion or “the scattered ones” – may well have felt like they had “both feet firmly planted in the air,” due to the persecutions and tribulations they were facing.
Peter begins his letter by reminding them of the sure foundation of their faith, one that should demonstrate, even in the midst of the challenges they were facing, “a living hope.”
This hope about which Peter reminded them did not originate with them, nor was it dependent on them.
God Himself, by His grace and mercy, through the death of His Son, Jesus Christ, brought this salvation to them. Further, it was the resurrection of Jesus from the dead that was the foundation of this “living hope.” And, it was by God’s power that they were being guarded until the last day.
These believers who were under fire had received this salvation through faith in Christ and were continuing to walk it out by faith in Him. This salvation that came through faith in Christ resulted in a “living hope” that would accomplish two realities.
First, it would result in unshakable joy in their lives, even in the midst of the most challenging of circumstances. Second, their faith that had been refined and proved to be genuine through trials would result in praise and glory to God.
Is the hope you have in your life determined by the circumstances in which you find yourself? If so, when difficulties come pouring into your life, and pour in they will, others will see a “dead wish” (i.e. “I wish things were different”) rather than a living hope. May others see a “living hope” demonstrated in our lives as we walk by faith in our resurrected and living Lord.