1 Peter 1:3-5 AMPC
Praised (honored, blessed) be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah)! By His boundless mercy we have been born again to an ever-living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, [4] [Born anew] into an inheritance which is beyond the reach of change and decay [imperishable], unsullied and unfading, reserved in heaven for you, [5] Who are being guarded (garrisoned) by God's power through [your] faith [till you fully inherit that final] salvation that is ready to be revealed [for you] in the last time.
I remember my Uncle (who lived with us during my childhood) was always checking in his investments.
Every day, the pink Financial Times would be delivered by the paper boy or girl, (there wasn't any Internet) and he would bury his bald head in the pages of the broadsheet, seeing if his stocks and shares had gone up or down.
If they had lost value he would go into deep depression and wouldn't perk up until the markets improved.
Money was everything to him.
Although he was relatively wealthy, he skimped and saved every brass farthing. He didn't enjoy life and often had nervous breakdowns.
As a young kid, it made a great impression on me.
I realised that financial wealth isn't a key to wellbeing and it can be a stumbling block to salvation (see the account of the rich young ruler Matthew 19:16-30).
Far better to be poor here and have an imperishable inheritance in Heaven, where there's no way it can devalue.
This morning, I ask myself: "Where is my hope invested - in my pension pot? In an inheritance?
None of these are secure.
They can disolve in a moment.
The passage above reminds us we have a living-hope invested in Heaven.
1 Corinthians 2:9
But as it is written:
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
We're told energy prices are due to sky rocket and folk are really scared about how to make ends meet.
In these days of scarcity, keep fixed on the living-hope in Jesus, it will never disappoint.
Romans 5:5
5And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
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