Wednesday, April 29, 2009
1 Peter 1:3-4 In his great mercy he has given us new birth . . . into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.
OUR RESURRECTION INHERITANCE
Because Christ was "born" from the tomb after three days in darkness, all people connected to Christ by faith receive new birth also. New birth into the family of God. When you're part of God's family, what belongs to the Father is going to be yours someday.
In the passage above, Peter tells his fellow Christians that they have been born into an inheritance. What he means is that through faith in Jesus, they have become ENTITLED to the inheritance that waits in heaven. But Peter doesn't try to detail out all that this inheritance will contain. Instead, Peter simply and powerfully describes the characteristics of our heavenly inheritance.
First of all, he says it can't go bad. It's imperishable. It can't rot from the inside out, because there's no sin in the presence of God.
Secondly, it's completely unspoiled (Perhaps even better is the fact that in heaven we won't be able to spoil it's beauty when we get there! For heaven isn't a second chance to get things right, heaven is perfect, sinless bliss forever).
One more thing. Peter says our inheritance in heaven won't fade. It's not going to get boring. It's not going to get old. It's not going to end. It'll be like the brightest, most beautiful sunset you've ever seen, but it won't end, and the clouds will never soften it's sharp beauty.
Is it surprising that our heavenly inheritance will be just like our Jesus? Uncorrupted spiritually by sin. Uncorrupted bodily in the tomb. Pure and sinless in life. Pure forever now, though He bore the sins of the whole human race. Unchanging in His love and dedication to sinners in His earthly life. Now unfading in glory in the Father's Heaven.
There is much that we don't know about what is yet to come, but this we do know: Jesus is the brightest and most precious Jewel in our heavenly inheritance.
