Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:1-5)
In terms of relation, the only way I can compare the wonderful gift of salvation to any material thing in my life would be by contrast. My body sometimes acts like I am three times my age. Everything I own rusts, gathers dust, chips apart, cracks, bends, or just overall stops working. A couple of years ago (or less) I received a new Bible, and it was pristine. Now, the cover is scratched and dented, and if I hold it up to the light I can see all of my own oily fingerprints all over it. Time wears me, and all my things, out.
Imperishable
Undefiled
Unfading
These are not the language of time, but of eternity. God has blessed me with immeasurable blessings - the fading, material gifts and my own cranky body but some of them. Yet, the greatest, the one that gives me most joy, and humbles me most profoundly, is the gift of salvation in Christ Jesus.
It is imperishable.
Jesus has sealed my salvation. It is "undecaying", eternal, immortal. It cannot be killed, it cannot die, it cannot age. In Christ, salvation is ageless. It is forever.
It is undefiled.
My salvation is pure. It cannot be tainted or contaminated by sin, so it cannot be lost. It is unstained. Even when I sin, my sin is covered. My salvation is not muddied. It is clean, it is pure, and it is holy, because it is given by the clean, pure, and holy Saviour, and He keeps it in heaven for me.
It is unfading.
My Saviour endures, and I am safe in Him. My salvation cannot diminish, it cannot disappear, it cannot perish or fade. Jesus has called me, He will keep me, and I will abide in Him forever and ever according to His grace - amen!
It seems like these three definitions build off one another to emphasize the fact that Jesus will never lose one whom the Father has given to Him. According to His great mercy indeed.
The older I get, the more clear it becomes that I am definitely perishable, defiled, and fading away (physically). The pain and the sorrow of this world is a constant reminder that this is not my home, that my hope is in Jesus, who purchased for me an imperishable, undefiled and unfading salvation.
ReplyDeleteGood reminder. Thanks.