The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Peter 1:17,
"Since you call on a Father who judges each person's work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear."
Peter exhorts us to live our lives here in this life as "foreigners." It reminds me of what the writer of Hebrews said of the heroes of faith of long ago, "All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them." Hebrews 11:13-16.
It seems quite natural to focus ourselves on what we have in this life: our families, our health, our finances and resources, our entertainment, the things we enjoy - you get the drift. After all, we only have one shot at this life and most of us determine to make the most of it.
However, for those of us who have embraced Jesus Christ in faith, something else has come into our lives that should rightfully turn what I just said in the previous paragraph on its head. We now have what the Scriptures call a new hope, a "living hope." Peter puts it this way, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time." 1 Peter 1:3-5.
Rather than simply ordering our lives in a way that comports with the notion that we only have one life to live, (our temporal lives in this age), Peter tells us to order our lives in a way that recognizes another dimension, a wildly fantastic and incredible dimension: eternal life! As sons and daughters of God himself, we now possess an inheritance in God's family as co-heirs with Jesus Christ (see Romans 8:14-17).
To be sure, the Scriptures inform us of responsibilities and things to pursue while we remain in this life. However, with the glorious eternal life that awaits us, we should be developing an outlook that this life is not our home... we are simply sojourning here. Our home is within the family of God for all eternity following the resurrection! As such we need to be living out our time here "as foreigners here in reverent fear."
A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
"Since you call on a Father who judges each person's work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear."
Peter exhorts us to live our lives here in this life as "foreigners." It reminds me of what the writer of Hebrews said of the heroes of faith of long ago, "All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them." Hebrews 11:13-16.
It seems quite natural to focus ourselves on what we have in this life: our families, our health, our finances and resources, our entertainment, the things we enjoy - you get the drift. After all, we only have one shot at this life and most of us determine to make the most of it.
However, for those of us who have embraced Jesus Christ in faith, something else has come into our lives that should rightfully turn what I just said in the previous paragraph on its head. We now have what the Scriptures call a new hope, a "living hope." Peter puts it this way, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time." 1 Peter 1:3-5.
Rather than simply ordering our lives in a way that comports with the notion that we only have one life to live, (our temporal lives in this age), Peter tells us to order our lives in a way that recognizes another dimension, a wildly fantastic and incredible dimension: eternal life! As sons and daughters of God himself, we now possess an inheritance in God's family as co-heirs with Jesus Christ (see Romans 8:14-17).
To be sure, the Scriptures inform us of responsibilities and things to pursue while we remain in this life. However, with the glorious eternal life that awaits us, we should be developing an outlook that this life is not our home... we are simply sojourning here. Our home is within the family of God for all eternity following the resurrection! As such we need to be living out our time here "as foreigners here in reverent fear."
A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
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