Thanksgiving

1 Peter 1:1-12 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen ² according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, ⁵ who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, ⁷ so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; ⁸ and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, ⁹ obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.

¹⁰ As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, ¹¹ seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. ¹² It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look.

In today’s text Peter writes:  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,  obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.     If the outcome of our faith was only the salvation of our souls, if it was only that whoever believed in Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, would have eternal life, that would be enough that we should be thankful to God. If God never did anything else but that because of His love, because of His great mercy and grace He sent Jesus to die for our sins so that we could have eternal life, that would be enough that we could never fully express our gratitude and thanksgiving. We could never give thanks enough to our great and merciful God and to Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

But how much more do we have to be thankful for, because as Peter says:   According to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.    We have a living hope and an imperishable inheritance.    That it is reserved in heaven does not mean that we do not receive it until we die. Then it would not be a living hope. What we have through Christ is a living hope. In John 10:10 Jesus says:  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.   Jesus came and He died for our sins not only that we would have eternal life reserved in heaven, but also so that we would have abundant life here and now on earth. That it is reserved in heaven does not mean that it is kept from us for another time. It is also kept for us for this time.   Jesus says:  “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17) In Luke 17:21 He says:  “The kingdom of God is in your midst (among you-here with you-within you)"    All that Christ has come to give us, the abundant life is here and now. It is around us, among us and even within us.  

Peter says:  In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory.    It is true that even though we have been given the inheritance of abundant life with and through Christ, there are various trials and distresses in our lives. Jesus even says:  “In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)  Romans 8:31-39 says:  What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?  He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit that because of Your great love You have given us eternal life through believing in Christ who died for our sins. Thank You also that in spite of the trials we face, You have also come to give us abundant life. Nothing can separate us from Your overcoming love. All that You have promised is ours through the finished work of the cross. It is reserved in heaven. I pray with thanksgiving that Your kingdom would come and Your will would be done, on earth as it is in heaven, that all that is reserved in heaven would be manifested here on earth.   Amen.