November 1 - Our Inheritance In Heaven 1 Peter 1:3–5 (ESV) 3 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, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Recent times have brought me to a new awareness of the reality of inheritances and the value they can have for those effected. The personal details are not as important as the realities that are revealled. Human agencies such as families are never perfect. There are bound to be disappointments even in the best cases. As people, we make the best decisions we can but we do not have perfect knowledge of the future nor of people. As parents, we simply do the best we can. As parents, we must trust that this is so, as we make our choices. As children we must trust and believe that our parents have done the same. We do not know the circumstances of Peters writing, but we can be certain that it came from the crucible of his personal experience. Perhaps he had felt short changed at the disposition of his own fathers will, we dont know. We do know that there was one occasion where two brothers came to Jesus and one asked for intervention: Luke 12:13–21 (ESV) 13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” ’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” It is interesting that Christ refused to interfere with human agencies such as the decisions of a father in his will. He does address the problem of covetness however. Quite extensively, he speaks to the issue with an exhortation and a parable. The exhortation: In essence you are tempted to think that your problem is your lack of finances when in reality, your problem is the possion of a fallen heart. “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” The parable: A covetous man reveals that he does not understand the value or the true purpose of finances. He hoards what he has instead of properly using them. He ends up losing all. He knows very little about what is truly valuable. He is not rich towards God nor himself. .” 16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” ’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, will they be?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” He thought to himself. He did not pray to the Lord for wisdom to use these riches to enhance the kingdom of God He lays up treasure for himself alone and his purpose is not acomplished. Peter calls us to consider an inheritance that our heavenly father has provided to all those in Christ. God does not ignore our need for wealth. He simply directs us to discover it in the proper source and resources. Many, who have very little, are truly rich and many, who have everything they could want, are, in reality, very poor. As believers, we have been given an inheritance that is described as this: 1 Peter 1:4 (ESV) 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, It is a permanent inheritance. It never loses its impact on our lives. It is not a gift that loses value to our lives. It becomes more precious to us every time we fully consider it. This inheritance isnt affected by space and time factors, like the stock market or inflation. It is unfading. It is also sutained by the power of God and his endless life. It is imperishable i.e.it will never rot or rust. It cannot decay or die or be redefined. It also cannot ever be stained or polluted or deiled. Our inheritance is maintained by the Holiness of God. It is also stored in heaven for us far away from the forces released on earth by the fall of man. Here is true riches and lasting value. Peter also says that we are kept by the power of God. Our inheritance is kept by his power in heaven and we are kept here on the earth by the same power. Praise the Lord. Lord Jesus, we are so grateful for your provision of grace as our inheritance. Thank you for what we have been given and what you have laid up for us in heaven. Amen!
Posted on: Sat, 01 Nov 2014 13:01:25 +0000
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