Facing Living Hope

Albert Bogle October 09, 2026 1 0

Playlists

Add to Favourites

Save for later

Listen to this daily worship

1 Peter 1: 3–9 (NIVUK)

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

This is Peter writing in the first century to vulnerable believers scattered across the Roman colonies in Asia Minor. They have been baptised and put their faith in the new birth, but they are under persecution. Some of them are Jewish and others are Gentiles. The thing is, they stand out as different, as a bit odd in the pagan world. Peter places the resurrection of Jesus at the very centre of his and his readers' lives. This is the key that opens the door of hope through which they can leave the turmoil of the present and see a meaning in life that surpasses the conflicts and abuses of the present moment.

You see, Peter takes it further: we don’t simply believe in a vacuum. We believe because we love him, but we love him because John in his epistle reminds us he first loved us. There is something quite mysterious and beautiful about the love of a Jesus follower. It is not a romantic kind of love; it is a soul love, that Peter links with "an inexpressible glorious joy." It is a joy he suggests can be received in the present. It’s not simply about life after death.

Personal Reflection: Take a moment this morning and reflect on the love you have in your heart for Jesus. The hymn "Fairest Lord Jesus" by an unknown German writer touches on the heartfelt emotions of believers seeking to express the inexpressible.

Prayer & Hymn

1: Fairest Lord Jesus, Ruler of all nature,
O Thou of God and man the Son,
Thee will I cherish, Thee will I honour,
Thou, my soul's glory, joy, and crown.

2: Fair are the meadows, fairer still the woodlands,
robed in the blooming garb of spring:
Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer,
who makes the woeful heart to sing.

3: Fair is the sunshine, fairer still the moonlight,
and all the twinkling starry host:
Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer
than all the angels heaven can boast.