Trials prove your
faith
Key Verses: 1, 4, 12, 15-16, 19, 23
Chosen by
the Spirit’s work to be obedient and set apart: this is the label placed on the
identity of those who were to receive this letter. It is a pretty good label
for us as well. At least it should match us. We are chosen for a purpose: our
lives should reflect His character.
We hear
stories of parents who set their children up for certain careers and then those
children choose to do something very different. Their parents choose doctor or
lawyer, but the child chooses art or social work with the poor. The parent
wants them to follow in their footsteps, but the child wants to forge their own
path, one that is very different from their parents. Movies have been made on
this theme.
God has
chosen us, and we have responded to that choice. We must choose to obey and
allow His Spirit to work on us, cleansing us so that our actions match our new
identity. When that happens we participate in a new inheritance that is a
permanent inheritance. It is as though we win the lottery, a lottery that has
an unlimited supply of money. The question is, what will we do with this
inheritance?
One of
the struggles of faith is that we don’t “see” the object of our faith. Science
reinforces the notion that if we can’t “see” it, measure it, explain it origin
from other natural causes, then it doesn’t exist. What a limiting concept! Love
is more than synaptic firings and hormone releases. When trials come we have
the opportunity to call out to the Lord and receive and answer. When the Holy
Spirit brings comfort, strength, encouragement, and peace in the middle of a
trial, we get to experience God’s love in that moment. Something that can’t be
explained as the result of wishful thinking or positive intention invades our
inner being. We “see” God.
The
readers were the recipients of blessings that previous generations had seen
from a distant through the eyes of faith. The Old Testament prophets were told
of the glory of what was coming, but they didn’t get to experience it fully for
themselves. They saw the grace fulfilled in Christ, and the promise of the Holy
Spirit resident in the faithful, but they understood from afar and experienced
His presence only momentarily.
And
because of this extra blessing in our lives, we have a greater responsibility
to live it out. Because we have the riches of Christ we need to honor His
presence with lives of holy living. His very life paid for our acceptance. Like
those on the field at Gettysburg, Jesus gave the last full measure of devotion.
He laid down His life for you.
His life
for your life; I think we received the better end of the deal. His life was
imperishable, and yet He perished. His physical life ended for three days. Our
physical life will end. The Word of God that saves us never dies. We have
placed our trust in what He has said. That trust will not be forgotten. He
won’t let us down.