1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, 7so that the genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, 9for you are receiving the telos of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Hope - the occassional delights which point to more are not wrong; but they point beyond. Satisfaction in this world is inherently limited, even when we are doing what we should. HOPE gives the confidence to believe and do the right things even though there is still a satisfaction gap.
Imperishable - everything seems to change and exhibit the threat of degradation and the inescapability of impermanence. Buddha resigned to this and built his response to life on it. Christ's HOPE, the resurrection into the permanent/imperishable changes everything!
Telos faith: saved soul - the belief/faith in Christ is that his resurrection shows the entrance into the imperishable; the lasting; abiding. My soul does not have to inevitably degenerate like brittle bones and unreliable organs, it can and should grow in grace and wisdom with confidence of now and future satisfaction.
today: Lord help me to see the changing nature of my world and life as a sobering call to invest wisely in what will last.
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