JUNE 13, 2014
We’re
Safe
Read: 1
Peter 1:3-5
[God] has begotten us . . . to an inheritance incorruptible and
undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you. —1 Peter 1:3-4
The United States Bullion
Depository in Fort Knox, Kentucky, is a fortified building that stores 5,000
tons of gold bullion and other precious items entrusted to the federal
government. Fort Knox is protected by a 22-ton door and layers of physical
security: alarms, video cameras, minefields, barbed razor wire, electric
fences, armed guards, and unmarked Apache helicopters. Based on the level of
security, Fort Knox is considered one of the safest places on earth.
As safe as Fort Knox is,
there’s another place that’s safer, and it’s filled with something more
precious than gold: Heaven holds our gift of eternal life. The apostle Peter
encouraged believers in Christ to praise God because we have “a living hope”—a
confident expectation that grows and gains strength the more we learn about
Jesus (1 Peter 1:3). And our hope is based on the resurrected Christ. His gift
of eternal life will never come to ruin as a result of hostile forces. It will
never lose its glory or freshness, because God has been keeping and will
continue to keep it safe in heaven. No matter what harm may come to us in our
life on earth, God is guarding our souls. Our inheritance is safe.
Like a safe within a safe,
our salvation is protected by God and we’re secure.
For Further Thought
What about your salvation
brings you the
greatest joy? How does it
make you feel knowing
that your salvation is kept
safe with God?
An inheritance in heaven
is the safest possible place.
Insight
Peter begins his first
letter with a complex greeting. After addressing God’s “elect” who are
strangers in the world and scattered throughout different areas (v.1), Peter uses
the struggles of this life to highlight the glory and security of heaven. He
speaks of the permanence of their home and inheritance in heaven—it is “kept”
(v.5) and can never spoil or “fade” (v.4). Peter reminds them that they are
shielded by God’s own power. He reiterates the confidence Jesus gave His
followers in John 10:27-29: Those who belong to God, the elect, are held safe
and secure in His hand.
Source:
Our Daily Bread 2012
