Jesus is not dead. The grave does not hold Him. He is alive, seated victoriously in Heaven. What great news! Though it is always important to reflect upon this gospel truth, around Easter, we need to remember and celebrate the resurrection and the hope we have through Jesus. When we turn to Scripture, we see that 1 Peter 1:3-5 sums up our resurrection hope well by saying:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! 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, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
What an amazing truth! What an amazing hope! In Jesus, we have a living hope. We can see what this living hope implies by walking through the passage. Peter begins by describing God’s blessedness. Out of His eternal blessed happiness, God willingly gives the gift of salvation. We cannot save ourselves. There is a great chasm between us and God: He is perfectly holy and we are saturated in our falleness. God would be completely just to condemn us for our sins. But, out of His abundant mercy, He sent Jesus into the world to live and die and rise again to bring salvation.So,God in His mercy, provides the way of salvation.But, God’s mercy does not just stop there; God also gives us eyes to see the sweetness of the Gospel. He shines the light of His loving kindness in our hearts. Our regeneration, aka new birth, is the greatest gift. Through new birth, we are no longer dead in sin. We are alive in Christ. We have a living hope; this is our hope: Jesus died and rose again.
What an amazing truth! What an amazing hope! In Jesus we have a living hope. We can see another aspect of this living hope when Peter talks about our heavenly inheritance.We know that as believers we will be with God forever in Heaven. Since Jesus rose from the grave victoriously, His resurrection seals our inheritance. What is our inheritance as believers? It is eternal joy with God in Heaven forever. Nothing and no one can take that away. It is incorruptible…totally free from corruption, evil, and sin. It is eternal…it never fades away. As time bound creatures, it’s hard to imagine eternity; but we will enjoy a never ending succession of moments in Heaven delighting in our God. And this inheritance is kept, reserved, secured, and guarded for every believer; every child of God receives this precious inheritance. Through God’s power, He will sustain us through the end; we can never lose this precious gift of salvation or our heavenly inheritance.We can never lose our living hope.
What an amazing truth! What an amazing hope! In Jesus Christ, our living, glorious Savior, we have a living hope.Jesus gives us the living hope of salvation: He is the one who sets us free from sin and death and the grave. He also is the one who guarantees the hope of our heavenly inheritance. I pray this Easter season that we remember this truth and give thanks to God. I pray we will always lift our voices to sing of our living hope.
