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A Living Hope – 1 Peter 1:1-12
I think I was 12 years old, which meant I was old enough to realize I didn’t really need it, but young enough to know that I really wanted it: the Target Cash Register for Christmas.
Go ahead, laugh. I get it. But seriously, I really wanted it! Every time we walked through the store, I would show my mom and tell her how much I wanted it. Every time, my mom would tell me I was too old for that kind of toy and that I wouldn’t actually use it. Every time, I would INSIST that I absolutely would use it and how dare she say that I wouldn’t, did she even know me as her daughter?
I don’t know what it was about the target cash register that made me borderline obsessive over it, but clearly there was something about it that made me a crazy person. And despite my persistence in asking, my mom stood firm and I resigned myself to the fact that I would never get it for Christmas.
And yet, on Christmas Day, I opened up a gift and what did I find? THE TARGET CASH REGISTER. Oh what bliss! Did it come from my parents? No! Did it come from Santa? No! The best gift ever came from none other than my little brother. In utter disbelief I said to my mom, “But you said that I would never get it!” She replied, “Yes, but your brother knew how much you wanted it and bought it for you instead.”
From that point on, I didn’t really care about the cash register (and don’t tell my mom, but she was right: I didn’t really ever play with it). Instead, the thing that was most important to me was the fact that my brother knew me and loved me enough to give me this gift that he knew I would love. It was a simple way for him to show me how much he cared about me. And it was that sentiment and demonstration of his love that I cherished – not the toy cash register.
That Christmas helped me realize the great love I have for my brother and the great love he has for me. It helped me learn how to show him my love in a better way. I think in a sense it changed our relationship permanently, because I could look back on that target cash register and remember what great lengths he took to show me he cared.
Jesus did the same thing for us. He went to great lengths to demonstrate his love for us, so that we would have a constant reminder of how much he cares. He went to the cross in order to redeem us and restore us into right relationship with him – a relationship marked by selfless, constant, unconditional love.
In 1 Peter 1:1-12, Peter is reminding the church of this great gift of salvation received through Jesus Christ. He emphasizes that the gift of salvation was not meant to be stagnant in our lives. The gift of salvation was meant to transform us! It should be lived out each and every day in our lives as we live through the Holy Spirit. That’s what he meant when he says we were “born again to a living hope”.
Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross was not meant to be something that we only acknowledge at Easter or when we go to church or when we participate in virtual CMI. It was meant to be the expression of love that transforms our lives into something being lived out and remembered each and every day. Our living hope in Jesus is shown in how we give each and every day, each and every moment over to Jesus.
Have you received this great gift from Jesus? Has it transformed you? Is it your “living hope”?
Time to Reflect:
What is the greatest gift you have ever received? What made it special?
If you were to have a faith that is living, what do you think it would look like?
Take time to ask God how you can live out your faith in him, remember his gift of salvation through Jesus.
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