What is a “living hope”? And how am I born into it? These are churchy words and dense concepts that make it hard to read the Bible. Some translations try to take out all the churchy words. I’ve found this to be helpful but not necessary if I spend a little time contemplating the words and reading the surrounding verses for context.
Even though today’s verse sounded complicated to me when I first read it, the meaning is actually quite simple. And it basically distills the whole point of the Bible: even though I don’t deserve it, God reached out (His great mercy) and offered me the gift of a new, clean and perfect life (the birth part). He did this by giving His son Jesus to be perfect for me and to die in my place. But Jesus conquered death so He’s alive and well (the living hope).
New birth into a living hope. If I accept God’s great mercy, I am reborn into a new life. I may look the same and my circumstances are probably exactly the same too. But internally I am different. My priorities are different, what I value has changed, how I intend to treat other people and why is all new. Where I look for guidance, comfort, and strength has been refocused on God. And over time, these internal changes will start affecting my external life as well. Maybe how I spend my time and who I spend it with shifts. Maybe my new integrity is noticed, and I get a better job. Or maybe I find more peace with my current job instead.
Just because I’ve been made new like this doesn’t mean I will be perfect. Jesus was perfect for me. I will unfortunately make many mistakes even in this new life where my priorities have adjusted. Things will still go wrong. Temptation still exists. This is why it’s important that my hope is living. Jesus is alive and ready to remind me again and again of how I’ve been forgiven, how much He loves me ,and that He’s here with me.
We humans forget good things so quickly and easily. We remember the bad for a very long time. If Jesus died and stayed dead, taking my sins with Him, I’d always wonder if He got them all. Maybe He missed a few…?
But He came back. He conquered death entirely and came back. He knew I’d need reassurance. Yes, He says. I got them all. Even the sins you will commit later today.
Dear God,
Thank you for being my living hope! Thank you for giving me a new life where I can stand in your holy presence without shame. I don’t deserve it, but I love it. Thank you for removing every last one of the mistakes I have made and have yet to make. I’m sorry for my failure to obey you and love others. Reveal my failures to me so I can hand them over to you for disposal.
CamDevo 