MERCY FOR A LIVING HOPE

“His abundant MERCY has begotten us again to a LIVING HOPE through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” – 1 Peter 1:3b

Believers in Christ Jesus are born again by MERCY for a LIVING HOPE: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant MERCY has begotten us again to a LIVING HOPE through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1Pet.1:3). Yesterday, we meditated on the reality and reward of Hope in God’s Mercy. It is by the same Mercy that we were “born again to a Living Hope”! The God of Love is also “the Father of Mercies and the God of all comfort” (2Cor.1:3b). God is rich in Mercy (Eph.2:4). His unfailing Mercy – Love in action – holds back from us the worst we really deserve, and along with grace, gives us the best we do not deserve. In particular, Salvation is a gift of God’s Mercy!

Mercy is the tangible and dynamic demonstration, expression, and outworking of God’s Love. It is the infinite, inexhaustible capability within the divine nature, which disposes God to be actively compassionate; that powerful and wonderful attribute by which God wills and accomplishes the deliverance of the oppressed out of misery into blessings. God acts in Mercy to deliver His people and bring us into spheres of Joy, Comfort, and Fulfilment. His Mercy is sovereign and free: it does not come because of something we have done. However, the best of Mercy is reserved for the "messed-up" who admit the errors of their ways, not the arrogant, self-righteous person who refuses to repent!

Ours is a Living Hope because God’s Mercy is unceasing and timeless: “Surely goodness and MERCY shall follow me all the days of my life” (Psa.23:6a). God never dwindles in His desire to deliver, rescue, preserve, and bless. He never removes His mercy from His children: “Blessed be God, Who has not turned away my prayer, nor HIS MERCY from me!” (Psa.66:20). Mercy is not a temporary mood with God, but His eternal character and disposition. His Mercy is Unfailing: “It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassion fails not, they are new every morning:  great is Your faithfulness” (Lam.3:21-22).

The Lord implants a living hope in every believer that’s established on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. There are three aspects to this living hope:

A Sure Hope (v.3): Any hope outside of Christ is superficial and temporary. Our hope does not come from possessions or what we do but who we are. Our new life is accompanied by new hope. Our salvation begins with God’s (foreknowledge and election); is secured by God (through the Blood); accomplished by God (regeneration); and confirmed by God (resurrection).                                                                                                                                                

An Eternal Hope (v.4): Whereas any hope in this world is a dying hope for the world is perishing! Hope in Christ is imperishable and immortal (untouched by death); Pure and undefiled (unstained by evil); and unfading (unimpaired by time).

An Enduring Hope (v.5): One that continues through tough times. Satan tempts; the world lures, and the flesh battles us, but God's power prevails. We might not feel like holding on, but we do, “by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:5, NASB). A hope that does not persevere and overcome is not a real hope.

People tend to look down on the Christian faith because of its hope, inferring that Christians are weak-minded and unstable. However, the three virtues of Hope show that Believers are steady because our eyes are on God’s eternal promises rather than earthly things which quickly fade away. People of Hope are hardly ever victims of anxiety and worry. Nothing can disappoint us in this life when Christ’s living hope brightly burns in our hearts. Our challenge is to keep this hope alive, deeply affecting and penetrating everything that it touches in our lives, so that the radiance of Christ’s joy and love will continually shine through and from our lives.

As we manifest a Living Hope in God, He shall never turn His Mercy away from us, in Jesus name!