Dear Church of the Open Bible,
I have a tendency to hope for lesser things. I hope for a good result for the team I’m coaching. I hope for good health. I hope for compliant kids. Sometimes I catch my heart hoping for things that will fade away and perish. I wouldn’t say any of these are bad but I don’t know if they will be able to sustain me considering the state of the world and my heart. This is why I love Peter’s description at the beginning of his first letter.
According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you… - 1 Peter 1:3-4
How robust is your hope today? What is it placed in? Can it perish, be defiled, or fade? If you are trusting in Jesus, you have been born into a living hope. A hope guaranteed by Jesus’ resurrection and one that we can rejoice in now, even today, amidst pain and suffering around us and within us. All of this is because of God’s great mercy! May we realize the incredible hope we have and live in light of it today.