Take the Beat Down But Still Come Out Victorious

“Although you have not seen^* him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”  Vss. 8-9

God’s got a plan.  Peter has laid out that plan.  We might very well take a beat-down for believing in that plan.  But that is okay, Peter focuses us on understanding that the beat-down is proof to the genuineness of our faith.  Because, when we really believe, we have something magnificent, something even beyond words.

And it is so kicking that we love Jesus, we believe in Jesus, we rejoice in Jesus, even though we’ve never seen him, nor shall we see him in this life (unless he is to come back, God hear my prayer!)  There is a future being cast in this letter, one where we shall receive the full outcome of our faith, the complete salvation of our souls. 

But it is an outcome that starts now.  The joy is already something we can aspire to, something we can touch, something we can experience.  Maybe if the Seahawks had run the football in those last plays of the Super Bowl, they would have achieved the joy of the victory that they were touching all the way through the game.  Jesus would have run the football. 

So here we are.  Peter has completed his introduction to his audience, recapped the history of salvation, celebrated the results of salvation, and reminded his audience of the joy of salvation.  From here, Peter goes on to tell us why we can latch on with such certainty to the promise of salvation.