Day 355

Ten days from completing this year’s reading plan. I hope you all have enjoyed it, even though for many it’s been a different way of going through it and has used a translation that you are likely not as familiar. Today’s reading picked up in 1 Peter 1. This certainly has a text that is quite important to the life of Living Hope (1:3-5). But what I want to consider this morning is 1:8,9.

Here is the NLT: 8 You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. 9 The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.

Here is the ESV: 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

It begins with a statement that Peter is writing to those who have never seen Jesus. This is applicable to us isn’t it? But he writes that they love him. This is part of the character of the Christian - love of Christ. Not only that but a Christian rejoices in Christ. And Peter puts it this way: rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory. It is a glorious joy. It is a fruit of the Spirit (cf. Galatians 5:22). And it’s not always expressed clearly. It’s almost impossible to express (especially to do so fully), and it as well has some irrepressibility to it. There is a constancy to this expression of joy.

The means by which this is known and by which we come to gain this joy: it is faith. I love the Shorter Catechism definition of faith: ‘Faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace, whereby we receive and rest upon him alone for salvation, as he is offered to us in the gospel” (Question 86). In some ways faith is a simple thing - believing the gospel. We believe the truth of Scripture and the truth about Jesus…and we rest in that. We don’t turn to other means of salvation (because there are none in reality).

So let us as we go throughout this day turn to the Lord and trust him, rejoice in him, and love him more and more.