Day 1

Firm ground beneath our feet

 

Reading: 1 Peter 1:1-12

 

Key verse:

“In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (verse 3).

 

 

Let’s start our series with a focus on verses 1-5.  As we saw in the Introduction, Peter honestly names the Christians he is addressing as “scattered strangers.”  But although we may feel like strangers in the world, we are not citizenship-less.  Peter wants us to know that, while we may have struggles in the world, we are citizens of heaven and we bear the characteristics to prove it.

 

What in your life feels most unstable at the moment?  Is it your health?  Perhaps you are concerned about the security of your job?  Do you feel challenged by a relationship?  When the ground beneath our feet feels insecure, Peter wants us to know we can find a firm footing in a number of ways.

 

Our identity in Christ

Peter uses remarkable vocabulary in these opening verses to describe the identity of the Christians he is addressing.  Remember he is writing to Gentiles who have become followers of Jesus.  But he employs words which would only previously have been used to describe the Jewish people (see for instance Deuteronomy 7:6):

• Chosen

• Holy

 

Whereas in the past, the Jewish people were God’s chosen people, through whom God’s purposes for the world would be made known, now God’s people are united in Christ.  It is now the Church who is chosen and set apart by God.  And because our identity is determined by Him, it cannot be affected by the changes and chances of the world.

 

Held in God’s eternal purposes

“God the Father knew you and chose you long ago” (verse 2, NLT).  As finite human beings, it’s hard to get our heads around the idea of God’s foreknowledge.  It is right that it remains partly in mystery.  But Peter wants his readers to know that we can be stable when culture is hostile, because the destiny of our lives is located within the eternal and unshakeable purposes of God.

 

A secure future hope

In verses 3 and 4, Peter declares that we carry the inheritance rights for an eternal hope.  This hope has been won for us through the resurrection of Jesus.  It’s therefore a hope in the face of death itself; the hope that we will enjoy a new embodied life with God in the New Creation when Jesus returns.

 

Peter uses some incredible words to describe just how secure this hope is. The Greek word for “inheritance” in verse 4 is klēronomia.  This is the word in the Greek version of the Old Testament for the Promised Land.  It refers to a settled and secure possession.  Again in verse 4, the Greek word for “imperishable” is aphthartos.  In addition to its standard meaning, the word was also used in non-biblical Greek writing to mean a place which was unravaged by an invading army. And the Greek word for “protection” in verse 5 also has a military connotation.  Phrourein implies that God stands like a military sentinel over us.  This doesn’t imply some kind of magical immunity from all suffering, but these verses assure us that when we feel in the midst of a battle in the world, when we feel like we are under attack, nothing that happens to us can disinherit us from the hope we bear.

 

Return to your earlier thoughts about what feels unstable in your life right now.  Seek to identify truths from today’s reading which can contribute to greater stability for you.  For instance, if you feel constrained in a job which is unfulfilling and you are questioning your sense of purpose, dwell on the truth that you have been chosen and called by God from “long ago” (verse 2).  Ask God to encourage you that your purpose and destiny are held in God’s hands and nothing the world can do will change that.

 

Our election cannot be shaken by the world.  Our future hope is beyond the reach of the decay of our current culture.

 

There’s firm ground beneath our feet.

 

Prayer

Eternal God, thank you for holding my life in your hands.  Thank you for giving me a sure and certain future hope because of the resurrection of Jesus.  Please be the stable foundation I need right now, especially in [name the area of your life that is most unstable or uncertain right now].  Reassure my heart with the truth that I belong to you and give me clarity and wisdom for the way forward.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.