By his great mercy he has
given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and
into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who 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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