1 Peter 1:3, 鈥淏lessed 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.鈥�
Hope鈥hat is what this passage from 1 Peter is all about. Hope is something that is absolutely necessary for human life to continue. When people give up hope, they鈥檙e done.聽
A psychiatrist named Viktor Frankl barely survived a concentration camp in the Second World War. He described hopelessness this way: 鈥淲hen a prisoner no longer saw hope for the future, he would quickly begin to shut down mentally and physically. Then, one day without warning, he simply would give up. No barking of threats would bring a response. The prisoner would just lie on his bunk uncaring like a corpse.鈥� We need hope!!聽
The problem is that people have misguided hope. Many people place their hope in politicians or some other person 鈥� but eventually their hopes are dashed as the flaws begin to show themselves. The truth is, we need someone bigger than ourselves in order to give us hope, and that is what Peter tells us we have in Jesus Christ.
You see, if we had a Saviour who died on the cross and stayed that way, then we would have no hope. He would be just like us. But thanks be to God that is not the case. Because Jesus rose again from the grave in victory over death, He offers all those who come to Him in repentance and faith a living hope, a sure and certain hope rooted and grounded in a living relationship with a living and risen saviour 鈥� a hope that is rooted in God鈥檚 鈥済reat mercy,鈥� as Peter tells us. You see, our sin is an offence to God, but in His great mercy, He sent His Son Jesus Christ into this world to live a sinless life, and then to give His life as payment for all who repent of their sins and believe in Him. Abundant mercy indeed 鈥� beyond all measure!!!聽
Here then is the hope that cannot fail, because it is firmly anchored in heaven in the person of Jesus Christ. Friends, we don鈥檛 know if we will live a long life, if our health will hold or if our investments will crash, but there is one thing that you can know beyond a shadow of a doubt. Jesus Christ died and rose again and because of that truth you are safe in Him forever. He will never leave you nor forsake you either in this life or for all eternity. Now there is some hope you can sink your teeth into. Amen.
