Once Lost, Now Found
1 Peter
1:3-5
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto
a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an
inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in
heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto
salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Jesus
has caused us to be born again. It isn't because of anything great that we have done. In fact, as sinners, we didn't have
sense enough to look for Jesus on our own. We did not choose Him, He chose us!
(John 15:16-Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained
you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit). I just finished reading “Twelve
Ordinary Men” last night. Although the focus of this book is to identify each
of the Twelve as individuals, it labors to underscore the fact that Jesus
chooses us. He chooses us, or calls us, at a point in our lives when we appear
to be no more useful for God’s Kingdom than a box of rocks. It’s done this way
so that we have no room for bragging or boasting about ourselves. Instead, God
gets all the glory! (1 Corinthians 1:27-29- But God hath chosen the foolish
things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things
of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of
the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things
which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should
glory in his presence.)
Jesus
found us and chose us to be instruments of His continuing ministry on earth. By
responding in faith, we are afforded the right to become joint heirs in His
inheritance. You find a lot about inheritance in the Old Testament. People
inherited thrones, kingdoms, land, fortune, etc. Until the last twenty years or
so, there was an abundance of inheritance passed on throughout generations in
our own culture. You don’t hear much about people receiving an inheritance these
days. If they inherit anything, it’s usually unpaid bills. It is becoming
harder and harder to store up anything of value in order to pass it on at the
time of death. People are struggling just to get by. I believe that this is not
by mistake or misfortune. It is my belief that this struggle, not just
financially, is a part of God’s plan in the last days to draw more people to
Him. Think about it, these days, the poor are barely making ends meet, and the
rich are sad and depressed. The poor have an abundance of relationships and no
money; the rich have an abundance of money and no relationships. Time is
running out and struggle keeps people on their knees in close relationship with
the Father.
What
am I getting at? Our inheritance is not of money or heir looms. Our inheritance
is eternal salvation, guaranteed by the resurrection of Jesus Christ and His
choosing us. It is through His death and resurrection that we have been
redeemed, found. Our world is getting to the point where our inheritance with
Him is the only thing we have left to hope for and to count on. People and
possessions let us down. We were lost in them, but He found us. Remaining
faithful to the end is the only eternal hope that we have to look forward to?
When
life gets tough and you feel your troubles are relentless, be in peace, knowing
the Father draws us closer in order to protect and sustain our faith so that,
one day, we may be found in eternal glory! God bless you!