A Living Hope

1 Peter 1:1-2:12

May grace and peace be multiplied to you. That's a fine how-do-ya-do! I noticed greetings before in the letters from Paul and this letter from Peter takes a similar tack. It is important to know where we start, and out of that, address one another. Today I heard someone talk about getting up in the morning and writing in ink: "God, what would you have me do today?" and then writing everything else in pencil. I believe this greeting in prayer is the best place to start a conversation, and that everything else can flow from that.

So what is this conversation we are to have today? Let's talk about being born again into a living hope. That is what Peter says, and I think he is onto something, this idea that we are born again to hope. Why? Because we need to do this more than once. Peter next says that for a little while we will be grieved by trials, and indeed we are-again and again, and that is why I think we are in need of being born again into hope. This hope that we can live into is one that we could lose sight of if we let the trials wear us down. But in this, there is good news; this is a living hope. Like Christ and the Word of God, it is ready to come to us again and again to comfort and sustain us even in times of trials.

This hope is the same hope of the big three I've been thinking about the last few days-Faith, Hope and Love.

This is what Peter says: Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

This seems to be filling out my understanding of faith and hope and love. And just in case we didn't think Peter had any idea of what life was like he says life is fragile and we are all perishing (All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls...) So we can trust his words to us, because they come from someone who understands, and what does he give us to hang on to? He says: ...but the word of the Lord remains forever." And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

And what is our response to be to this?  Peter urges us:... as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct ... honorable, so that ... they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

I will hang onto that hope, and I will keep it between me and the trials that might wage war against my soul, and pray that I might be about the Lord's work, whatever it might be.

See you tomorrow.
-maggie