Reborn into a Living Hope
Over this last week, I’ve been reflecting on Peter’s letter to the refugees of his day. Many of his readers had lost their homes, livelihoods, and loved ones for the sake of Christ. They were well acquainted with ‘fiery trials’ and seemingly endless suffering. Yet the apostle reminds them in 1 Peter 1:3 that they’d been ‘given new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.’
Living hope. Wow… I need that. We need that. Maybe now more than we ever have before! We’ve got:
- A nasty war going on in Ukraine
- A nuclear threat worse than the Cuban missile crisis
- Runaway inflation at a 40-year high
- Skyrocketing crime rates
- A pesky pestilence that won’t seem to go away
- A dramatic increase in homelessness, addiction, and mental illness
- Pastors going off the rails
- Pessimism, purposelessness… and a profound loss of trust in the institutions that we once put our confidence in
Yes, we need hope! But not just any hope: Hope that’s alive and life-giving.
Living hope isn’t just a perspective, a principle, or even a promise. It’s a person!
Because Jesus is alive and with us… we can be confident that truth, justice, and love will ultimately prevail. Because Jesus is alive and with us… we can be confident that broken lives and relationships will continue to be restored. Because Jesus is alive and with us… we can be confident that all the suffering and death we see will not have the final word.
BECAUSE HE LIVES… I can face tomorrow.
BECAUSE HE LIVES… All fear is gone.
Because I know he holds the future…
And life is worth living just BECAUSE HE LIVES.