Thoughts for the Day

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, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time..... Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

(Church in Wales Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

What is hope? For me, it's the desire for something good in the future. So when I was 15 years old I was invited to stay with my Uncle's son (by his first wife who had died) specifically to go to see Sunday Night at the London Palladium. I didn't know the family well but they made me very welcome and I had a great week with them. However as the weekend drew near the weather began to look particularly doubtful and we woke on the Sunday morning to a foot of snow. I had so hoped to see the show, but it was not to be, and I was bitterly disappointed. My hopes had been dashed!

Unlike my hope to go to the theatre and see such a famous show and which came to nothing, our reading from the first letter of Peter speaks of our hope in Jesus as a "living hope". We have been offered life with God because Jesus conquered death. In an image for today we might think of this as having been given an inheritance by God, who allows us to have a little of this inheritance from the moment we become Christians, and places the rest in a vault in His bank for the future. It won't diminish when the bank rate changes, neither will it be stolen. We don't really know what this inheritance is, perhaps it's allowing us to get closer to God, but we do know that it's saved for us in heaven.

Because of our faith in Jesus and in His promises, we have a living hope - a hope that means we want to praise God for all His gifts to us.

Praise to You,
O God who is the Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We thank You for Your gifts to us,
for the hope of eternal life,
and for a living inheritance
kept safe for us in heaven.
May we continue to grow in faith
confident in the hope You have
set before us,
and looking forward to the future.
Amen.