Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Our Inheritance: God is Keeping Our Grubby Hands Off-For Now


By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

The inheritance is kept in heaven.  Great, so what use is it to us down here?  Well, we are given a new birth into a living hope.  The hope is what will come to us in time.  The Promise of God's mercy is fulfilled at the end of time.  Given that the inheritance is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, why would we keep it down here on the earth?

Taken by itself, I might ask what are we supposed to do in the here and now? 
But that will come.  Peter is not telling us the inheritance being kept in heaven is because we are somehow unworthy of it until we get there.  No, it is in heaven, backed by the full faith and credit of our Father who art in Heaven. 

This is a new relationship between God and humanity.  Relationships were reestablished with Abraham, with Moses, with David, but all ended in failure-because of humanity.  This relationship, this is a promise that God is making to humanity that will not fail.  

And it will not fail because we have nothing to do with it.  It was by God’s mercy that we are offered a new birth.  It was by the death and resurrection of God’s Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, that it took place-not by anything we were supposed to do.  And God preserves this gift for us until its final fulfillment up in heaven.  God is keeping our grubby hands off of it so it cannot fail. 

Fort Knox, the Bank of England, whatever earthly place of security that we can imagine, has nothing on the security of heaven.  Thank you Lord.

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