Benefits!

Benefits!

Praised (honored, blessed) be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah)! By His boundless mercy we have been born again to an ever-living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, [Born anew] into an inheritance which is beyond the reach of change and decay [imperishable], unsullied and unfading, reserved in heaven for you, 1 Peter 1:3‭-‬4 AMPC

Let it first be established that God is God, not because I say it is or agree it is. Nothing I do or refrain from doing can change who God is. Peter here speaks about God the father and the Lord Jesus as being praised, honoured and blessed. These words can only come from an experiential knowledge of God. Have I come to know and accept God as highlighted above, or is there still an identity crisis?

If I then know this God, what has he done to further underline his status as the blessed one? Today's extract talks about his mercy. This is so fundamental to all I am and become. His mercy gives new birth, which opens the door to other blessings made available in and through Christ. If all I hold on to is the natural birth, the first experience of life, then I cut myself off the amazing blessings that the new birth can bring. Nicodemus heard it loud and clear: new birth leads to new life and eternal life.

This new life is important because it does not end. The first life, the one we got by natural birth through Adam, became tainted by sin. Sin cut it short, and access into the true life God promised was closed. However, by blood, access to God has been opened up. All the new life secures for me is in turn secured by the nature of this new life: there is no fading, decay or stealing. The natural progression of time does nothing to diminish the value of what we hold. It is reserved in heaven, the reward for faithful service by the One who cannot lie or be deceived. If He says it, you can rest assured that He can bring it to pass.

Very important: it is the new life that secures all these blessings. It is not about ability, connection, logic, reasoning or common sense; it is first, foremost and only  through faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross. Believe Him; accept him as Lord and Saviour, and walk into the hope already secured for you in heaven. His time of favour is here.