A Living Hope

We can be born again to a living hope because Jesus was raised from the dead. 1 Peter 1:3 says,

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,”

When I think about hope, I don’t always think of it in terms of the source of that hope. In this case it’s not based on just any past event being a predictor of a future event. It’s based on the resurrection of Jesus. I know it’s not quite Easter but in my Bible Study, on the Feast of First Fruits, I came across this idea: That we are guaranteed a resurrection because Christ was resurrected first. The Bible says in several places that Jesus was the first fruits of the resurrection. If He was first then there are more to follow. We can count on our own resurrection and an eternity in heaven because Jesus was the first to be resurrected. That gives me a source for hope that cannot be compared to anything else.

Of course, it’s not a guaranteed resurrection if one does not know God through Jesus Christ. But, I am confident in my position in Christ and know that I have asked Him into my life to be my Guide, Ruler, and King. So, being assured that I’m in Christ, I am assured that I can be born again to a living hope because Jesus was raised from the dead. I don’t know about you, but that gives me a security I’ve only kind of had before.

I really like the idea that if Jesus was the first to resurrect, then there will be more. Who ever said that someone was first in a race with only one runner? That just doesn’t make any sense. In order for there to be a first place finisher there had to have been other runners. We are the other runners in the race of eternity. Jesus was the first place finisher but He was only paving the way for the rest of us. That gives me a sense of confidence in the resurrection and in my own resurrection. Someday it will happen.

So, because Jesus was raised from the dead and lives, we can confidently know the possibility of resurrection exists for us. That living hope gives me a sense of peace that I have not necessarily had before. This world is not all that there is.