Skip to main content

Build on the Rock

                Sadly, summer is over!  I hope that you had a great time with things like camping, boating, road trips, concerts, reunions and weddings.  Summer is made for having fun and creating memories. 
                Unfortunately, memories and good times have one inherent problem. Peter describes this issue by saying, “You know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life…” (1 Peter 1:18).  Notice the words “perishable” and “empty”.  Peter’s point is that temporary events cannot produce lasting joy.  Even the most expensive things that you have and your most wonderful memories will fade over time and leave you feeling empty and incomplete.
                For example, I love going to concerts!  However, as soon as the band sings the last song, some of the excitement of that night starts to drain away.  It is a good memory, but part of the joy that I felt while the concert was happening is gone.  The same is true of vacations.  You look at the pictures and remember some wonderful things, but you cannot feel exactly what you felt when you were there.  The memory degrades and corrupts over time.  That is why people continually search for the next big, exciting thing to do, buy or experience.  If our joy is based on having or doing certain things, then we will always be forced to keep chasing the next thing, because the good feelings leak away.    
                Peter then gives them a solution to this problem.  Instead of temporary happiness, he tells them to focus on their eternal hope (verse 21).  This hope is not based on what they have or what they have done.  Rather, it is centred on God and his nature.  It is shown in the “precious blood of Christ” (verse 19) and the fact that God set this plan in motion “before the creation of the world” (verse 20).  This hope gives us a bigger picture and it brings meaning and worth to every day, not just our best ones.
                Jesus said that when we build our life on things that do not last, we will always be rebuilding.  However, when we centre our life around him, we find everything that we need. (Matthew 7:24-27).
              Fun things are great, but we cannot base our life on them.
  Enjoy your days, but live in your hope.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Don’t Be a Tourist

                  From the moment that God told Abraham to leave his home and follow him (Genesis 12:1-3), God’s people have understood that they are on a journey.                 That being true, the essential question becomes, “How are you making that journey?”   T here are two options: You can be a tourist or you can be a pilgrim.                   Tourists leave their real life behind for a little while so that they can visit another place.   Generally, they travel in groups and do not mix much with the local people.   They hit the highlights of various regions, but they do not really experience what it is like to live in that part of t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Darkness to Light (Colossians 1:9-14)

 Our transition from lost to found is a gift of God. It is because of God’s grace and Jesus’ sacrifice.  However, our growth in that new life is at least partially our responsibility. So, what needs evaluation?  Where should this growth begin? What does it look like to walk in the light? Colossians 1 highlights three starting spots.  https://youtu.be/1nWWWj4awh8  
Post a Comment
Read more

New Article: A Spiritual Apgar Score

                  As recently as the 1950s, having a baby was a risky proposition.   One in thirty births ended badly until an anesthesiologist named Virginia Apgar developed a system to rate how newborns were doing.   She focused on five key areas (appearance, pulse, the reflex action or grimace, activity or muscle tone and respiration).   She encouraged doctors and nurses to rate each child on a scale of zero to three for each quality.   A score of 10 or more meant that the baby was healthy; 4 or lower indicated that the baby needed immediate intervention.                While numerous other medical advances have occurred over the years, all agree that Apgar’s rating system had a huge impact. ...
Post a Comment
Read more