Thursday, April 24, 2008
1 Peter 1:6-7 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith -- of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire -- may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
THE REFINEMENT OF OUR HOPE
Trials and changes in our lives cannot destroy our hope because this fact remains unchanged: Jesus rose again. However, the Apostle Peter still writes this: "You may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials." The Christian, while indeed promised eternal glory, is not promised an earthly life free of care and problems. Thus our faith must be refined and sharpened or it will become dull and we will begin to forget about and lose sight of it. It will be choked out by other concerns and priorities. This "refining" God sometimes does by bringing us through hardship.
Like the gold brought from the ground is mixed with unwanted substances, so the hope within us is also mixed with impurities. Doubt, for example, tries to destroy our hope in the resurrection. The sin and disobedience which follows us every day of our lives are also "impurities" which threaten us. Yes, we believe in the resurrection -- we trust that our Lord has won for us eternal glory -- but being sinners as we are, the pure hope which the Holy Spirit has created in us is mingled with the impure.
So as precious metal is refined to purge away the impurities, God can refine our faith in the furnaces of hardship and trials. When facing physical illness, the Lord comes to us and reminds us that while bodily health is important, it is not as important as the health of the soul -- and He will help us with both. When we are in a "low" time, sometimes that is when we see our need -- and understand God's providence all the more clearly. In times of financial crisis, our God can lead us by the promise that He will provide for us when and how it is best. In moments of sorrow and sadness, we are pointed to the joy of our futures in heaven. There is no trial or temptation that is too great for God to manage; no sorrow that His gospel cannot answer.
