Day 324 · Year 1 · The Story of Scripture
Born again to a living hope
Peter writes to exiles. He says they are also heirs.
Today's passage
1 Peter 1:3-5
3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, reserved in heaven for you,
5who through faith are shielded by God’s power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
Berean Standard Bible · public domain
Reflection
Peter is writing to Christians scattered as refugees in a hostile empire. He does not start by acknowledging their hardship; he starts by reminding them what they have. They have been 'born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.' Their inheritance is 'imperishable, undefiled, unfading, kept in heaven.' Notice that adjective stack. Whatever else may collapse around you, your inheritance in Christ is not subject to entropy. That is what makes Christian hope 'living' — it is anchored in something the world cannot reach.
From the great tradition · paraphrased
Elisabeth Elliot · Modern · 20th–21st c. · USA
Elisabeth Elliot, who knew profound loss, lived from this kind of hope — that the inheritance kept in heaven is real enough to walk faithfully through losses on earth.
Paraphrase only. Scripture, not any teacher, is the authority.
Think it through
- What three adjectives describe the inheritance in verse 4?
- What is the basis for 'living hope' in verse 3?
- Where do you need a hope that is not subject to collapse?
A prayer to pray
Thank God for the inheritance kept for you. Ask him to make that hope alive enough to carry you through this week.