4/19/17
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.
The Christian life is centered on the hope of the resurrection. This is the message of 1 Peter 1:3-9. By God’s mercy, his people are born anew. They can hpe in the resurrection. As Jesus rose from the dead, we also can expect to rise from the dead. As Jesus’ co-heirs, we have the same kind of heavenly inheritance that Jesus does.
With such promises we would expect that the Christian would never suffer. But that is not the case. Suffering continues in this world. Yet, in verses 6-7 the suffering takes on a purpose. It is intended to solidify our faith. It demonstrates that our faith is genuine. This should create confidence in Christians. We have not had the opportunity to see Jesus face to face. We are trusting that accounts of all he said and did are true. We trust that the questions we needed to ask have been asked.
Faith in work we cannot see is difficult. It tests us. We prefer to see absolutely convincing evidence ourselves. We like to be the experts. That isn’t what God gives us. He is the one who presents himself as the reliable witness. He has shown to be reliable in other ways. We trust that he is in matters of salvation as well.
Through faith in Jesus, then, the Christian has a living hope which is complete and good. This is more than we could ever devise ourselves. Thanks be to God for his salvation.
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.
The Christian life is centered on the hope of the resurrection. This is the message of 1 Peter 1:3-9. By God’s mercy, his people are born anew. They can hpe in the resurrection. As Jesus rose from the dead, we also can expect to rise from the dead. As Jesus’ co-heirs, we have the same kind of heavenly inheritance that Jesus does.
With such promises we would expect that the Christian would never suffer. But that is not the case. Suffering continues in this world. Yet, in verses 6-7 the suffering takes on a purpose. It is intended to solidify our faith. It demonstrates that our faith is genuine. This should create confidence in Christians. We have not had the opportunity to see Jesus face to face. We are trusting that accounts of all he said and did are true. We trust that the questions we needed to ask have been asked.
Faith in work we cannot see is difficult. It tests us. We prefer to see absolutely convincing evidence ourselves. We like to be the experts. That isn’t what God gives us. He is the one who presents himself as the reliable witness. He has shown to be reliable in other ways. We trust that he is in matters of salvation as well.
Through faith in Jesus, then, the Christian has a living hope which is complete and good. This is more than we could ever devise ourselves. Thanks be to God for his salvation.
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.
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