Hope!

Hope!

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 1 Peter 1:3 KJV

If I am to fully understand the context in which the words of today's extract is set, the verse before this speaks to the target of the encouragement here: people who are the Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, who have been sanctified by the Spirit, and called into obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. No a single part of this process can be skipped; you do not become saved without all of the above being present.

The big question then is: am I saved, according to God's standard here or do I just do church? Have I made a home in church, yet the owner of the church does not know me as His own? Do I stand and 'minister', yet have not a single flow of His Spirit and Presence in me? Fundamental questions; with eternal consequences.

If the above has been settled, then there is an abundant and never-ending supply of grace and peace. You are not compelled to praise God; it flows naturally out of your life because you know the God you have been called to follow. The charge to bless God is founded on the knowledge and appreciation of what He's given and done. Why is this so important? It is because earthly impact in the immediate and eternal life eventually are at stake.

God did not call me and set me apart just for 120 years on earth; he saved me so I could be an earthly outflow of His power and then come and reign with Him in heaven. He has to 'begat us again', because sin had dealt with the initial 'begat'. It was his abundant mercy that was the medium and the target is this eternal hope that when it all ends down here, it is just a transition into the realm of the eternal.

In the light of the above, what kind of life am I expected to live? If God has taken time to do all of these things for me, surely there is an expectation from me. If God has given me all I need for life and Godliness, let it be assured that an account will be demanded from me of all that He's given. The hope we are called to is alive; the One we are called to follow and serve is alive; we are called to live our lives in that consciousness, certain that the life of God in us will keep us in his will till He returns to call us home.

As we wait, we live right; we give praise and through our lives, point other people in the right direction: to God. May his praise continue to be evident in and through us. His time of favour is here.