Scripture
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:3-5)
Observation
- Why both “God and Father?” —> imagery of birth, new and young life
- God’s mercy is the source of this blessing Peter describes
- What God gives is connected to its source in quality: resurrection produces living hope, heaven gives an inheritance that cannot fade or dim
- Although mercy is the source — faith is the means of this blessing (verse 5)
Application
These brief verses at the opening of Peter’s letter speak profoundly to me today. Over the next few days I will be spending time with a family who has lost their husband/father/grandfather after a long illness. These verses are powerful but even more so in the shadow of death, of loss, of grief.
What says life more than a baby? What brings joy more than a new life, a young life? So Peter says we can experience that anew through the resurrection of Jesus. Not just a metaphor – a reality. Not an image but an experience! The Father of Jesus? Wants to produce new life in us who are facing death.
Prayer
God and Father, as I look toward these days of facing the reality of death may I remember life in you. As I grieve with these friends may I point them and myself to the Father who gives another life, one that will not end with death and cannot be destroyed or diminished. In these days when they and I most need it may we see it again through your great mercy and the resurrection of your son, Jesus. Amen.
