Wednesday, February 29
Wednesday, February 29
1 Peter 1:3-5 and 2:9-10 – A Living Hope and a Sure Salvation
The Apostle Peter is writing to Christians in areas of a region we now know as Turkey. These areas were in the Roman Empire, and the Christians were being persecuted because of their faith in Christ. Peter doesn’t mention any persecution; yet, we glean that these Christians were being pressured and abused by the anti-Christian atmosphere in which they lived.
Peter first reminds those Christians and us that they and we, by the great mercy of God, have been born again – given a new life – not just another life but a life that is marked by a living hope to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. This has been assured by the resurrection of Christ that Peter himself had witnessed and guarded by God for an ultimate salvation that will be revealed in the last time.
The hope of which Peter speaks is more than wishful thinking for the future. It is a confident and assured expectation of God’s ultimate redemption of those who have been reborn or born again. Peter further characterizes the hope as a “living” hope which emphasizes that the hope is permanent – undying.
In Chapter 2, Peter likens God’s call to the Christians to whom he is writing as the call God gave the children of Israel to become a nation to proclaim the excellencies of Him who had given them a new life.
The assurance of Salvation to those of us who have been reborn into God’s holy nation is the ultimate hope for all who, because of their faith, are suffering any type of abuse or discrimination. Many have been and are being persecuted and even martyred because of their faith in Christ. They have suffered and do so in the present gracefully because of the assurance – the confident hope – they received in their rebirth in Christ.
Living Out Lent: Let us proclaim the excellencies of God in our daily life. If we suffer abuse or persecution for our faith, let us be assured of our ultimate salvation “ready to be revealed in the last time”.
Major Harding is a former judge and now practices law. He grew up in North Carolina, met his wife, Jane, at Wake Forest, and they have been married 53 years. They have three children and nine grandchildren. He has served on the vestry and been Sr. Warden of St. Peter’s Church.