1 Peter 1:3-7 – 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, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Life is heavy, especially lately. The burdens we get from our frail, flawed, fallen planet are incredibly heavy. From political conflicts, to cultural decay, economic uncertainty to personal pains, problems, and perils, life can easily drag you down and get you down.
For the Christian, we do not have to deny or diminish the pain of reality. We can fully admit what Peter calls “various trials”. Counselors refer to something called “complex grief” which means that life is like an avalanche and you are overwhelmed by one thing after another, unable to shovel out from one thing before you get hit with the next.
The good news is that, for the Christian, we are promised that the blessings from God outweigh the burdens of this world. Think of life like a teeter-totter. When I was a kid, I remember one day sitting on the teeter-totter with my little brother on the other end. Because I was heavier, I was stuck in the down position. Eventually, our other brother joined us, and sat on the other end of the teeter-totter opposite of me. As soon as they outweighed me, I was lifted.
Life is like that. The burdens of this life weigh us down until God provides blessings that outweigh our burdens and lift us up. These blessings include God’s great mercy for us – the fact that a Christian is born again as a new person in Jesus Christ, with a living hope that outlasts this life, to a resurrection and imperishable inheritance in heaven which is a perfect world ruled and guarded by God’s power so that we are safe from harm, our struggles end, and our Savior wins! The result will be rejoicing that starts today and only gets louder and more enthusiastic throughout eternity. When the Bible uses the word “glory” it means “heavy” to remind us that God’s glorious blessings outweigh the world’s burdens.
What things can you rejoice in right now to help lift your burdens by remembering God’s blessings?
To download the free e-book ODD LIFE: Good God which is a study in 1 Peter for individuals, groups, and families from Pastor Mark click HERE. To listen to Pastor Mark’s 9 sermons on 1 Peter preached in the summer of 2020, click HERE. These and other resources are made possible by our ministry partners who support Real Faith as a Bible teaching ministry of Mark Driscoll Ministries to whom we say THANK YOU!